Morro's Path - Evolution
by rideofthevalkyrjur
Summary: A few months after the defeat of the Preeminent, the Ninja have gained newfound fame. Then, rumors begin flying of a mysterious Shadow Ninja, and the ninja go to uncover his identity. Meanwhile, Morro discovers a dangerous plot. But will his nature mess everything up yet again? Book Three of the "Morro's Path" Series. T for violence, some torture, and character death.
1. Prologue: The Shadow Ninja

**Fandom** \- Ninjago

 **Summary** \- Triquel to "Corruption," takes place a few months after the end of "Redemption." Rumors begin flying of a mysterious Shadow Ninja, and the ninja go to uncover his identity. Meanwhile, Morro discovers a dangerous plot. But will his nature mess everything up yet again?

 **Rating** \- T for violence, mild torture, and character death. No sex, no swearing.

 **Characters** \- Morro, Lloyd Garmadon, Sensei Garmadon, Sensei Wu, the Ninja, Mystery Character

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE - And here we are at book three already. While book one was an exploration of factors that turned Morro from the arrogant, desperate-to-prove-himself kid we see leaving Wu's monastery into the villain we meet in season five, and book two was an alternate ending, this is where things begin to take off in a completely different direction. In this volume, there's a different threat, and while the characters are the same, the story is in an altered universe. So, from here on out, the plots are coming straight out of my head, which may be good or bad depending on who you are. One more thing: I've made cover art for each of the past installments in the series, but this one is missing it as of now. Within this week I should have a cover uploaded in the same style as the past few!. And now, without further ado, let us open this latest volume.**

 **-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

 **PROLOGUE**

 ** _THE SHADOW NINJA_**

The streets of New Ninjago City, late at night, were dimly lit and quiet. By this time—about half an hour past two in the morning—most of its inhabitants had gone to bed, though there were the few odd ones, those that stayed out late, partying or hanging out. But as it stood, at this time, most sane people had already returned to their homes, and those few crazy people were still involved in their little habits.

A young nurse, Hanna, had just gotten off of her shift. She was exhausted—it had been a busy day, and a long night, and all she wanted now was to return to her apartment in the city, about a ten minute walk from the hospital. Her brown hair was half pulled up in a messy bun, her glasses slipping down to the end of her nose, just a bit, and her scrub top was dishevelled. Hanna was tired. But soon, she'd be home, and she could simply crash into her bed.

She plugged in her earbuds, turning on some music as she walked down the sidewalk. Her apartment wasn't far, she really wasn't worried at all about walking down the street alone at night. Of course, that was until a hand clasped over her mouth from behind her, tugging her earbuds loose. She hadn't even heard the attacker's approach.

Hanna tried to scream, but the hand cut it off. From the dim alley she was passing, about five large men stepped out to join the one that was holding her and covering her face.

"What's a pretty little thing like you doing out here, hm?" one asked.

Hanna's eyes were wide, her heart pounding. She didn't know what she could possibly do, how she could possibly get away. There were too many of them, and only one of her, and she'd never been very strong. Now, she was truly regretting missing out on those self-defense classes she could have taken.

"Clearly wanting to come for a visit," another man continued, gripping her arm. "I wonder if she has anything she'd like to share with us... doesn't look like much, you know?"

They dragged the young woman into the darkness of the alley, carrying her along like she wasn't much more than a feather before slamming her against the wall and tying a rag around her face to gag her.

"Yeah, but she works at the hospital," the first man snapped, "Those medical folks... they're always rich."

"Search her pockets!"

Without another word, they began to dig their hands into her pockets, only to pause suddenly at a rush of wind from above them. The thieves looked up and around, searching for the source of the sound. "What was that?" one asked, in a hushed whisper, his eyes flickering from one side of the alley to another.

In their momentary distraction, Hanna tried to slip away. Her apartment was only two buildings away, she could tell the doorman about what happened... if only those men hadn't stolen her phone... But unfortunately, it had been the first thing they'd pocketed. Hanna took one quiet step, but evidently the gangsters heard it and she was quickly pinned back.

"Now, now... we don't want to hurt you," he sneered. "We just want your money and valuables... and your silence. If you say a word about this to anyone, girlie..."

Once again, the sound of wind whistling down the alley cut him off, but only for a moment—this time, the man ignored it and continued facing down his victim. "If you say a word about this to anyone, we'll be after more than just your coin next time... it'll be your life that's in danger... understand?"

Hanna's eyes widened in fright and she gave a small nod.

"Good... now, just hold still..."

But the man didn't come any closer, because in that instant, his head snapped to one side and he fell to the ground with a grunt, lying motionless. Hanna gasped into the gag as the other gang members startled. Quickly, one rushed forward to put a knife to the girl's throat. "Don't move... show yourself... or else the girl gets hurt!"

Instead of cutting her throat, though, the man simply gave an unearthly scream of agony. Hanna couldn't tell in the darkness, but it seemed as though he'd been attacked by the shadows around him. The man let her go, and took a swing at the other gangsters, proceeding to attack them. They gave frightened cries, and then attacked their comrade. In a few seconds, the one man slumped to the ground, shaking.

The others gasped, and Hanna did as well—in the light of a passing car, she briefly saw him—or it—she couldn't tell. Her rescuer was no more than a shadow in the shape of a human, but he fought off the attackers with moves so precise and well-executed that Hanna was sure she'd seen them before.

No matter—the strange shadowy savior soon brought the rest of the thugs to unconsciousness. Then, a pale, green-glowing dagger appeared in his hand. Hanna gasped, backing away, and flinching as it neared her face...

Only to cut off the gag. Then, the shadow lifted her phone from one of the prone forms, handing it to her. Hesitantly, she took it and stared at him, but all he said was a quiet, "Call the police. They'll be out for awhile." And then, the shadowy form vanished. Hanna stared after him for a few seconds in shock before quickly dialling the police.

Only two days later, she was back at work. While she loved her job, today, her mind was a million miles away. Who was that odd stranger? How did he take that shadow form? As she brought a drink to one of her young pupils, her gaze fell on the television. On it was broadcasting the new popular television show, Ninja Tales. For a moment, Hanna paused, watching. Suddenly, it dawned upon her why the fighting style of the shadowy rescuer had been so familiar—it was like a ninja's.

That's who he would be. The Shadow Ninja. That is, until she or anyone else found a proper name for him, or discovered who he was.


	2. Chapter 1: Rumor Has It

**CHAPTER ONE**

 ** _RUMOR HAS IT_**

"Calm down, Kai! You must think before you strike, you must keep careful control of your movements!"

The fire ninja paused, taking a brief glimpse around at the training equipment on the deck of the _Destiny's Bounty._ Most of the wooden components were on fire now. He swallowed a little. Maybe using his elemental powers on a wooden ship hadn't been the best idea...

Luckily, he had backup. A few jets of water washed over the deck, dousing the flames—and then another one hit Kai, soaking him.

"Hey!" the red ninja yelled, quickly reaching up to straighten out his hair as he glared at his younger sister, then he glanced toward the older man who was on deck with them. "Sorry, Sensei Garmadon. I'll try harder to be more controlled."

Then he looked at Nya, glaring a little bit. "You messed up my hair, sis, you know the price for that."

Nya smirked. "Oh, do I?" she asked, and quickly jumped out of the way as Kai lunged at her. The siblings began to fight, though it was all in jest. Still, Garmadon shook his head a bit, setting his staff against the railing and moving over to reset the nearly dismantled training dummies.

A set of footsteps approached and there was a slight yawn from behind him. "Mornin' Dad," Lloyd murmured, still rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Garmadon raised one eyebrow, taking in the sight of his son's slightly dishevelled gi, still sleepy expression, and the fact that overall he looked like he'd just gotten out of bed. He put on a stern expression. "Lloyd, just because you are the green ninja doesn't mean you can oversleep. Quite the contrary—your mind must always be sharp and alert—and one of the best ways to dull a mind is to sleep in."

Lloyd frowned a bit, stretching his arms out behind his back. "Aww Dad... you're just saying that," he muttered, yawning once more and rubbing the last bit of sleep from his eyes. He glanced up at the sun, then at his shadow—it was nearly eight in the morning. Usually, the latest the ninja were up was seven, and that was on days without sunrise exercises.

"Unfortunately, Lloyd, your father is right," Wu spoke up. He stepped down from the bridge, a cup of tea in his hand. "And since you slept through breakfast, then I hope that the green ninja is prepared to face a sink full of dirty dishes."

A little scowl crossed Lloyd's face. "What? That makes no sense..."

Garmadon chuckled a little and squeezed his shoulder. "Go on. There's plenty of time for training later. The dishes will only get harder to clean if you wait longer—we had oatmeal for breakfast." There was a little bit of a taunt in his voice, but not much—just enough to be slightly irritating.

"Awwwwhh!" Lloyd groaned, turning to head down to the galley. "Stupid dishes..."

Wu came to join Garmadon on the deck. Garmadon glanced toward his brother, dipping his head a little bit—a gesture which Wu returned. "They've come so far... and yet still, they've all changed so little," Garmadon smiled gently, shaking his head.

"Yes," Wu nodded, "But they have grown nonetheless. They are stronger than ever. I am proud to call them my pupils." His gaze drifted down toward the decking and he sighed softly.

Garmadon frowned now, turning to face his brother. "You've looked for him?"

Wu sighed. "Yes, I have, but either he doesn't want to be found, or he has passed beyond into the Departed Realm. I fear we may never know. One does not simply find a ghost that doesn't wish to be found." He wove his fingers together behind his back. "I had hoped he would finally return home, but I suppose that was too much."

"Perhaps he will someday," Garmadon offered. "Until then, we must be grateful for what we have. Speaking of which..." he glanced toward the hatch. "I think I'll go help Lloyd. He might be a bit happier if he doesn't have to scrape all of the oatmeal off by himself." He turned and started below-decks. "Have fun untangling those two," he gestured to the fighting siblings.

Kai had finally caught up to Nya, and had jumped on her, pinning her to the deck and viciously tickling her sides. Nya was trying to wriggle away and giggling. "Kaiiii... stop it!" she yelped, "You jerk!"

Finally, Kai stopped suddenly at a rap to his head.

"I thought you were supposed to be training, my young pupils," Wu admonished them, and the two climbed back to their feet, straightening out their ruffled gis.

"Sorry, Master Wu," Nya responded.

"We'll get back to training," Kai added, and took up a stance, landing a kick on one of the training dummies. Nya moved to practice some of her moves. Jay and Zane simply watched them from the quarterdeck, where they had a chessboard set up. Cole was below, meditating, staying out of the way of Nya's water. Wu looked around the ship, and smiled slightly, though it was tinged with sadness. It would still take some time to get over Morro's disappearance. He'd managed to push his first student from his mind, but now, after his return, it was a little more difficult. There was still so much that he could do.

"Wu!" came Misako's voice from the bridge, and Wu looked up in curiosity. "I just got a call from the warehouse. The ninja's new airjitzu gis have arrived," she explained.

Wu nodded. "I'll send Lloyd and Kai to pick them up once Lloyd and his father finish cleaning up from breakfast," he told her. "

Misako smiled and started down the stairs. "I put the _Bounty_ on autopilot. I think I'll help him finish up. Like everyone else, I'm sure he'll be happy to get out of training for a bit."

"Yes, and I'll be happy to get out of listening to the sibling rivalry," Wu responded with a snort, earning a 'Hey!' from the two ninja in question. Before long, they were joined by Jay and Zane, who had completed their chess game, which Zane had won as usual. Wu sat back and watched them, lightly sipping his tea.

With his parents helping him, Lloyd had finished the dishes rather quickly. He glanced toward his parents. "I'm going to go now, alright? I'll be back soon." He gave each of them a quick hug—a practice he'd adopted, feeling bad about refusing his mother's request just before he'd been possessed.

"Alright, Lloyd," Misako nodded. "Be careful."

Lloyd rolled his eyes a little bit. "Moooom... I'll be fine! We're just going to pick up our gis, nothing dangerous, alright? Besides, I'm not going alone. We'll be okay if we stick together."

Garmadon chuckled softly and ruffled his hair. "Go on. Of course you'll be fine."

Lloyd smiled and then turned, hopping up onto the deck. "Kai, Come on, we've got to go."

Kai stopped training, glancing at Nya with a shrug. "Well, I'm ahead, so I guess that means I win. Bye, sis, I'll be back soon." He came to join Lloyd, ignoring Nya's protests, and the two formed their dragons and lifted off from the deck of the ship.

They glided across the nearly cloudless sky in silence for a few moments, and then Lloyd glanced over at Kai. "I wonder what they'll look like," he thought aloud.

Kai gave a small snort. "Hopefully they're ninja uniforms, not work clothes like last time," he joked. "But I'm not worried. They're airjitzu gis. They're probably lighter than this deepstone, anyway." He tugged at the sash on his gi.

"Yeah," Lloyd nodded. "Hey, want to get a bit of ice cream after we're done? That is, if we can avoid the fans..."

"Avoid them? Why would we do that?" Kai asked, tilting his head to one side. "I kind of like the attention."

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Sure you do. Come on, it's right down there." He spiralled downward, landing his dragon next to the warehouse. With a brief motion of his hand, his dragon vanished as he dismounted. He and Kai walked inside, stopping at the desk.

"Hey, there's supposed to be a shipment for Master Wu and the ninja here?" he asked the man, who quickly stood up and nodded. "Yes, yes, it's right back here..." he vanished into a back room, carrying out a medium-sized box and placing it on the counter. "Six new uniforms... I am correct, right? You only needed six?"

The green ninja frowned slightly, tilting his head. "Yeah... why would we need more? There are just six of us." He took a pen and signed the slip, then handed it back to the man, who waved one hand dismissively.

"Of course, I must have just been confused."

The ninja glanced at one another and shrugged, then Kai looked back to the clerk. "Yeah, probably. Thanks!" he said. The two of them left the warehouse, Kai carrying the box. As they exited, Lloyd gave a small gasp. Evidently, word had gotten out that they were here, because there was a small crowd of press and civilians. It seemed that everywhere the ninja went now, there were these crushing crowds of people. They wanted their autographs, they wanted interviews, and some just wanted a chance to see the ninja in person—even though it was pretty easy to do so. But today, there seemed to definitely be a focus on interviews. One young reporter approached and thrust a microphone into Lloyd's face.

"We've heard rumors that you've added another member to your team, is that true?"

Now, that was a question that Lloyd hadn't expected to be asked at all. He frowned, shaking his head. "No... only Nya..." he replied, "But she's been a part of the team for almost a year now..."

The reporters seemed disappointed, and someone in the crowd shouted, "What about the shadow ninja? Who's he?"

Kai and Lloyd quickly looked at one another, startled expressions on their faces. What? What shadow ninja? They'd never heard of anyone like that... If there was some ninja out there, wouldn't they have been the first to know about it? They were the ninja after all.

Kai looked toward the crowds and held his hands up. "Hey... we have no idea who you're talking about, but we'd let you know if we were ever adding another ninja to the team, alright? For now, though, we've got to go. Come on, Lloyd."

He jumped upward, creating his dragon over their heads. Seconds later, Lloyd did the same, and they quickly took to the skies above, leaving the people behind them. The fans cried out for them to stop, and the reporters flashed their cameras to take pictures of them as they lifted off and climbed into the sky. Lloyd groaned a little bit, glancing down. "I almost miss the days where nobody even knew who we were," he muttered.

"I don't... but that's not what's weird," Kai responded, frowning deeply. "Who's this... shadow ninja... they were talking about?"

Lloyd gave a shrug. "I have no idea," he replied, and turned his dragon a bit, setting a course for the _Bounty_. "Maybe Master Wu will know, or my Dad."

They continued to glide forward, the wind whistling around them. Kai held the box on his lap, directing his dragon with the other hand. "Yeah, maybe."

Shadow ninja. There was something a little familiar about that... but what? It could always be Shade, the shadow master from Chen's tournament. Lloyd frowned a little bit. Shade wasn't a ninja, though. He didn't fight like one, he'd had no training. They'd talked as though this 'shadow ninja' was one of them... a real ninja. But that didn't make any sense. Had Wu taken on another pupil? Or had some vigilante watched them enough to copy their technique? Who was this shadow ninja? Or was he nothing more than a mere rumor?


	3. Chapter 2: The Old Monastery

**CHAPTER TWO**

 ** _THE OLD MONASTERY_**

Wu's old Monastery had sat deserted and destroyed upon the top of a mountain after the Serpentine attack had torn through it. A place that had once been one of the greatest training centers, and one of the oldest places, in all of ninjago, hadn't seen a single day of use since its destruction.

Of course, not everyone knew that it had actually been destroyed.

It was just past dawn, the sun had just started to send its gentle rays over the horizon. The sky held only a few wispy clouds, and the blazing ball of fire had begun rising in all of its glory. A semi-transparent figure began making his way up the steps.

Morro's appearance had changed just a bit since he'd left the ninja behind. Now, he was dressed in all black. He wore loose, longer robes, with a mask covering half of his face. His feet, though, were still bare. His expression was neutral. Each of his steps was measured carefully, slow, steady, and deliberate.

He still didn't know how many years it had been since he'd last set foot in this place. He wasn't quite sure what had happened to it, or why Wu and the ninja lived on their flying ship. He didn't know what he might find when he reached the mountaintop.

As he walked, his memories came to him. The first time he'd come up here, he'd been the smallest of a small group of urchins. They'd told him that they could usually find a fairly decent meal in the bins up here. Morro recalled the long walk up the steps, how he'd had to stop to rest and then run, panting, to catch up. He'd done that twice a day, until Wu had lured him inside.

The corner of the ghost's mouth twitched slightly in remembering. He'd been so nervous at first. He'd thought that the man would have been upset that he'd taken the food—but he hadn't been. Wu had promised to make him into something special. Morro had thought for so long that he hadn't—that to be special he had to be the green ninja, but now, he'd begun to realize otherwise. He'd still become something special. Morro tried to think about what would have happened if Wu had never taken him in, but he knew it wouldn't be anything close to who he was now. While Morro didn't think fondly on some of the things he'd done, now... now he was doing something else. Without Wu's training he'd never have been a ninja at all. He might have turned out something like Ronin had.

But now, as he finally mounted these steps, it was bittersweet. Morro hadn't been here since he'd left after Wu had refused to give him the green gi. He'd said he'd never come back until he'd found the tomb of the first Spinjitzu Master. And he had, though it wasn't in the way he'd originally intended. If only he'd found it sooner, before he'd died... then he would have returned. But would Wu have even let him become the green ninja? Morro let those thoughts slip away. It was no use now—there already was a green ninja, and it was Lloyd. Not Morro.

Finally, Morro came to the top of the mountain, where the monastery's gates should be... and he took one look and gasped, pulling the cloth down from his face. Where the structure had once stood was simply a pile of rubble. The gate was gone. The courtyard in shambles. The buildings utterly destroyed. Morro stood rooted to the spot for a few moments, and then carefully took a few steps forward.

It looked so silent and dead. There weren't even birds making their homes here. Morro swallowed, crossing the courtyard and entering the ruins. Here had been the living area... and the next room over was the meditation room, where Wu had had him sit for an agonizing hour every morning. Morro had thought it was keeping him from training, but now he understood that it was to provide a balance. The training equipment in the courtyard where he'd spent countless hours pushing his limits had been completely destroyed.

A slight tremble to his lip, he went down one of the broken hallways, past the charred walls. There was a single door still standing, though the walls were burned and singed. Morro reached out and turned the knob, but it had been locked from the inside. He gave a slight swallow, then took a step through the door.

There was a bed in the corner, mostly intact aside from the sheets being burned and a small support having fallen across it. A charred dresser was opposite. Morro pulled it open to find a few pairs of clothing. He pulled a white shirt out, bringing it close to his face. It was unburned, but smelled like smoke. Then he turned back to the bed. There was a small table next to it—well, there had been. One leg had been destroyed and it had fallen over. Morro reached down to the floor and picked up a shattered frame. Miraculously, the picture inside was completely intact. He pulled it free, then sat on top of the bed, looking at it for a few moments.

It showed a small boy wearing a blue-and-green gi, smiling broadly as he stood next to a tall, blonde-haired young man. He was holding a wooden katana that was much too large for him, and the man had one hand on his shoulder. This picture had been made after the young Morro had first started his training, after he'd put on the first ninja gi he would ever wear. He looked so utterly happy... Morro could barely remember that willing, happy, excited little boy he used to be.

He felt his eyes burning a little and he reached up, rubbing them on his sleeve. He tucked the paper into a deep pocket on the side of his robe, standing back up. With a deep breath, he left the room, returning to the courtyard. There, he found a spot that was untouched by the flames, brushed it clean with a quick gust of wind, and sat down cross-legged, his eyes closed.

It took merely a moment of meditation for everything to start coming back to him. Each memory filtered through like a tiny ray of light through the clouds. This place, it had been the only true home he'd ever had. He remembered training here, growing here... it was here that he first was told he could be someone that mattered. It was here he was first told he mattered to someone else. He remembered how he'd tried to learn Spinjitzu, but never had been able to, spinning for a few seconds only to topple over. And it was here in this place that he'd stood before the golden weapons, to receive not the slightest response. It was here that he'd build his dreams, and here that they'd been shattered.

He didn't notice the sudden influx of tears until they'd burned long streaks down both sides of his face. Then, he opened his eyes.

The wind had started picking up. Morro placed one foot in front of the other, pointing his toe, and stretched his arms to one side. He then brought his other foot back behind him, took in a deep breath, and spun.

Everything passed in a blur of dark green. Morro shut his eyes once again, as the wind rushed around him at a ripping pace. The tears stopped, and slowly, the spinning slowed down. Morro teetered to a stop, firmly standing on both of his feet. A smile slowly spread across his features. He'd done it. He'd finally performed Spinjitzu. Panting a bit, he walked back to the gates, looking down, then out over the few clouds, across the landscape of ninjago.

"I finally did it, Sensei... you tried to teach me for years. I've finally mastered Spinjitzu," his voice was quiet, and then he turned around to look back at the old monastery.

Morro grit his teeth together, lifting his chin slightly to consider the ruins. Broken and burned didn't mean lost forever. He clenched his fists at his sides. In a blinding flash of dark green he spun around the courtyard, sweeping all of the rubble into one corner. Some of the training equipment could be salvaged—he put the pieces back together and gave the training dummy a test punch—it wobbled back, and then forward. Then, he brought that which couldn't be fixed to the edge of the mountain, blowing it from the cliff.

Next, he jumped to the top of the wall, drew his arms back, and then sent a powerful stream of wind over the entire place. It caught the ashes, bringing them up and over the walls and letting them drift off over the land. Morro jumped down, looking in a circle. The courtyard had been fixed. It wasn't quite what it had once been, but it didn't look quite so desolate and dark and destroyed as it had when he'd first come up the mountain.

He went inside the ruined buildings. A frown creased his face as he took it in. The courtyard had been one thing, but often there weren't even walls on this part of the monastery. Morro blew the dust and ash out of the windows of the main living room. He paused next to some burned, destroyed device—that hadn't been there when he'd last been to this place. No matter... it was alright. Nothing was the same. So much had changed, it was as though the world were a completely different place.

Morro glanced at the couch, crushed by fallen beams, and quickly darted over, possessing them and returning them to their proper place on the ceiling. He dropped down, dusting the couch off and sitting down. It had been crushed, so it was mostly useless. Still, he pushed it up to where the walls had once been. This room finished, he moved on to the empty meditation chamber. A quick burst of Spinjitzu had cleaned it up. Smiling a little, he ran outside, finding a few sticks of incense in a storage shed, and lit them. The familiar smell filled the room, and Morro gave a little nod. Yes... this was much more like home.

And then, back to his old room. It was the only fully-walled place left in this monastery. Morro phased back through the wall, unlocking the door and opening it. It immediately fell off of its hinges. With a sigh, he lifted it up and leaned it against the wall. He turned to his bed, pulling the boards off of it and tossing them outside, shaking the ash and dust from the blanket. He cleaned the floor, and made sure the supports were still sound enough.

Morro stepped back to survey his handiwork. The room was burned, seemed almost deserted, but it looked almost the exact same as it had when he'd left it. He had barely realized just how much he'd actually missed this place until now. Now that he was back, even though it was burned and destroyed, it still felt like he'd finally come home after so very long.

But something just wasn't right. He looked around the room, a frown on his face, then slipped his hands into his pockets, leaning back. His fingers brushed the paper he'd placed in there. Suddenly, a slight, sad smile appeared on his face. He walked over to the small table, lifting it up and propping boards underneath of its shattered leg. Then he took the picture from his pocket. He cast a quick glance over the smiling faces of a past life that stared back at him. His own smile became a little wider, and he leaned the paper against another board, so that it stood up like it had in its frame. Then he stepped back. Yes. Now it was like home.

The ghost turned to the bed, sat down, and then lay back, staring at the burned rafters above him. His work in the city was important. But for now... it felt good to know he'd still have a place to come back to after it was all finished.


	4. Chapter 3: A Ninja Unmasked

**CHAPTER THREE**

 ** _A NINJA UNMASKED_**

"Sensei! We got the package, but we've got to ask you..."

Kai broke off just as he and Lloyd got into the bridge on the _Bounty_ , where the other four ninja, the two Senseis, and Misako were gathered, watching the television screen that hung suspended above them. On it was displayed a reporter. It seemed that the two ninja hadn't been the first to tell the others about the strange questions.

 _"_ _A spike in crime-fighting activity continues to rise in Ninjago City. So far there have been many reports of muggings and violence thwarted by the mysterious vigilante we've come to know as the 'shadow ninja,' as well as many burglaries. However, this unidentified hero has an unusual way of going about things. As one of those rescued from a kidnapping just this morning says—"_ here, the screen cut to a young teenage boy, who was standing next to a younger girl that looked like his sister.

 _"_ _He just got there, knocked the men out, and then asked if I had a phone. When I said I did, he told me to call the police... and then he just left. The bad guys were all unconscious. But it's sort of weird. He saves people, and it's like he wants to let the cops get all the glory,"_ the teen explained, speaking into the microphone held up to his face.

The announcer returned to the screen, and a moment later, a picture flashed up onto one corner. _"One of the soon-to-be victims of gang violence managed to snap a photo of the mysterious benefactor before he left. From what we could see, the rumors are right—there are no identifiable features. It's like he really is a shadow."_

Suddenly, Lloyd startled bolt upright. "Stop it! Pause the TV!" he cried, and Nya glanced at him, tapping the button. It froze, and the green ninja leaned a little closer to the screen. "Look, in that picture," he pointed. "That glow... I... I'd know that anywhere."

The others looked at him, puzzled, and Lloyd took a little breath. "It's Morro. It has to be... when he first... attacked me, he'd taken a shadow-form. I couldn't see what he actually looked like... it was a shadowy shape just like that." He then pointed to the bit of green glow. "That's a ghost weapon... I'd know it anywhere, I held those."

He gave a slight shiver, looking toward the floor. Sure... he'd forgiven Morro, but that didn't make the memories go away of how it had felt when the ghost possessed him. Garmadon frowned, taking a step toward his son and resting a hand on his shoulder. "Lloyd," he said quietly, almost warningly. "You don't think it is a danger, do you?"

Lloyd sighed, willingly accepting the touch and leaning into it a bit. "No... I don't... I really do think he changed back at Stiix... he hated you, and yet he almost died trying to get you out of the Cursed Realm. And he's... helping people. It's just... it's still..." he chewed on his bottom lip a little. "I'm not sure how I really feel about him yet."

Garmadon nodded. "That's perfectly alright." He gave Lloyd's shoulder a squeeze. "It will take time. Some things can only be healed through time."

Wu had been looking toward the television for a few moments, and then he turned back toward the ninja. "If it really is Morro, we must find him. He needs to not be alone any longer. It has been months since he disappeared... I fear for him. If he is to stay on the right path, he should not have to do it alone."

The other ninja hesitated, just slightly, but nodded in agreement, as did Garmadon.

"We'll go back to the city tonight and try to find him," Cole offered. "I'll try to grab him before he ghosts off, since he won't be able to just slip through my hands."

Wu gave a small smile. "Thank you," he dipped his head. Lloyd looked up.

"I'll go with you, Cole," he offered, but the ghost ninja shook his head.

"No... maybe it's better if you didn't. He might be more likely to try to run. Think you're out for revenge or something. I'll take Jay and Zane with me."

Lloyd frowned, but Garmadon nodded, looking toward him. "He does have a point, you know. You and Morro don't have the best history, and we're trying to get him back, not scare him off or make him feel intimidated."

"Yeah... I guess so. It sort of makes sense for me, Kai, and Nya to stay back then," the green ninja nodded.

Cole gave a little smirk, then beckoned. "Come on, guys... we've got to get ready to go. It would probably be better to get there before sunset. Our dragons will be less noticeable during the daylight."

-o-o-o-o-

It was a long journey from the monastery back to the city. Morro had headed back to the old structure to drop off a few things he'd found—some food he'd found newly discarded from a restaurant due to expiration, a shirt, and a few other odds and ends—and then quickly returned to the city for another night of work. He had a lot to make up for—he wasn't about to stop soon.

Night had already fallen by the time he reached the streets, though they were still alive with cars and passers-by, heading home from movies and various other sorts of entertainment that Morro knew little to nothing about. Once again having assumed his shadow-form, he kept his head low. Morro was from another era. He was as of yet still unused to the bright flashing lights and noise and chaos of the city. He made sure to remain intangible as several people walked through him on the city sidewalks.

He'd been back for some time, but he still felt so lost. Like he had nothing—like all he had left was his work in the city's streets. It was his only purpose...

Morro had realized he would never be the green ninja. It was... deeply upsetting. Sometimes he felt like jumping into the nearest lake, pond, fountain, or other liquid-holder. But telling himself that he'd have no chance to change his mind if he did that tended to chase those feelings of misery off.

Still, the master of wind felt completely alone in the world. While he'd always prided himself on his independence, now he felt as though it was a burden. As though he'd almost give anything to have some companion, someone to talk to, someone to tell him that he was making up for all of the horrible things he'd done.

A vehicle blared its horn not far from where he was walking and Morro startled, jolting his head up from the pavement and jumping a foot off of the ground. This was his punishment for musing, for letting his mind wander. A startling bark in his ear from some angry driver.

People were different now than they were when he was alive. It made him feel a little old—but it was so different that he felt less old, and more just lost in the midst of this.

Just as he began to think that it may be a bit of time before he found anything, he caught sight of a flicker in a nearby alley. Giving a small gasp, Morro jumped up onto the roof of a passing car and hopped from one to the other, landing on the sidewalk on the other side of the road.

At first glance, there was no one in the alley, nothing. Maybe it had been a false alarm and Morro hadn't really needed to worry about it at all. But wait! There was another flicker...

He darted forward. A cloaked figure was standing over the whimpering form of a young man. Morro swallowed. This didn't look like a gang member. There was something a bit more... sinister... about him. Still, he needed to be stopped. Morro leapt at the last moment, slamming his feet into the figure—only to find himself flying past as he dodged.

Yes, this was going to be a more difficult opponent. But not too difficult. Morro was one of the greatest fighters of all time, after all. He'd almost single-handedly defeated all of the ninja—and was still fairly confident he could take all of them on again, except for Nya with her powers.

Morro clenched his fist, summoning his daggers, and resumed the attack. The cloaked nemesis wasn't at all like anyone else he'd fought on the streets. He or she seemed to know exactly what they were doing. Luckily, Morro did as well. With a series of well-aimed kicks and cuts, he had almost confused them enough to land the final blow and knock them out.

And then, there was a clatter. Morro's attention turned toward the ground behind him. He caught a glimpse of a slightly glowing object on the ground, taking a brief moment to look at it... but that moment was all that his opponent needed to make his escape. When Morro looked back to continue the fight, he saw the lid of a manhole sliding closed as the cloaked fiend vanished beneath the city. Morro looked toward it and gave a shudder. He couldn't follow him down there. He hated caves... caves and passages and closed, dark spaces. He'd died, trapped in a cave. Besides that, there was most likely water in a city sewer, and worse. Morro couldn't risk that.

As he approached the figure on the ground, he picked up the glowing object—a small phial of a fluorescent, pale-green liquid—and tucked it into his pocket. What it was, he had no idea. He'd have to look at it later—maybe it could be useful.

Morro suddenly froze as he realized the young man wasn't moving. The ghosts eyes widened and he stepped toward him. Now, he left his shadow form in order to become tangible, and moved his hand to the side of the victim's throat. He waited a few seconds, fear jolting through him before he realized that he was a ghost—he wouldn't be able to feel a pulse.

"I'm sorry," he gave a quiet whisper, before plunging himself into the body of the poor man.

It only took a moment to realize that the apology wasn't necessary. There was no consciousness, no thoughts, no dreams, no hint of a life force. The body was as cold and yielding as any inanimate object Morro had ever possessed.

Quickly, the ghost drew back. There wasn't even the slightest of shivers from the form on the ground.

"No... no..." he muttered, sinking to his knees. "You can't... you can't be dead! You were just alive..." His voice cracked a bit. He'd never failed like this before. The young man had been alive and struggling just moments before- the fiend who had attacked him couldn't have had time to kill him, and there wasn't a single wound on the body! What had happened? Why was he dead?

Morro's form shook a bit, and he was near tears, not knowing what to do. He'd spent months doing this, working to save people, and he'd never had one die. He didn't know whether to somehow contact the police... how to explain what had happened. No one would trust him, they'd think he was the murderer. And that still left the question of how he'd died, and why that awful cloaked man had murdered him.

Dead... Morro had never actually possessed a dead body before. It had felt so strange... Morro wrapped his arms around himself, kneeling quietly beside the still form, staring down at it, hair hanging limply in front of his face. He felt a bit number than usual, a little shocked. Even though he'd already died, and spent forty-odd years surrounded by dead people, death in itself still came as a shock to the ghost. Seeing a corpse of someone who had just been alive and well moments before... Morro wasn't naturally a killer. He wasn't naturally comfortable with death. He still recalled how he'd disposed of the poor man he'd used to get to Lloyd... and how bad he'd felt about that. It was using that as a leverage that had allowed Lloyd to fight through his possession for a moment when he'd first fought Kai. Morro still hadn't forgiven himself for that. He hated being a killer. He hated that people feared him. And if they came upon this... they'd think he'd killed this poor boy.

Morro's hands shook. "P-please..." he stammered softly. "Please breathe... do something... be alive..."

But there was nothing.

And then, there was a voice from the end of the alley.

"Morro?"

The ghost startled, quickly jumping to his feet and whirling around. He still trembled a bit, he still felt numb and uneasy, and upon setting his gaze on his former enemies, he lost the ability to think rationally.

Someone must have seen him with the body and notified the ninja... now Cole, Jay, and Zane were coming to destroy him since people thought he was a murderer. Morro gave a startled cry and quickly turned to flee.

He only got about two steps before he felt a hand—it had to be Cole's, he could feel it—gripping his arm and pulling him to a stop.

"Morro! Stop running!"

Morro tried to pull away but when he did he felt his knees weaken, and he couldn't run. He backed against the wall, scrunching down so that his already small stature seemed even smaller. He pressed his hands against his face. "I didn't do it! I didn't kill him! I was trying to save him!" he yelped, and the sounds of approaching footsteps stopped.

"Kill who?"

Morro removed his hands from his eyes and pointed a shaky finger towards the still form on the ground. Zane quickly approached, and the others turned to follow. Morro tentatively took a step back from the wall, watching them with wide eyes.

Zane first felt his throat, and shook his head, and then pulled up the boy's sleeve, touching his wrist. It was then that they noticed a spidering of bright, slightly glowing green lacing its way across the underside of his arm.

"What's that?" Cole asked, pointing.

Zane frowned, peering at it. "I... do not know. It doesn't seem related to any medical condition in my database. You said he was attacked, Morro, and not by you?"

The ghost swallowed and quickly nodded. "Y-yeah... I was fighting... and... he was alive when I got here, but when I finished the fight... he was dead..." His voice shook, and the ninja frowned. They hadn't seen him so distraught before—they'd been occupied when he'd collapsed in Stiix.

Not quite sure what to do, or even whether to fully believe him, they shared glances with one another for a few seconds. Then they nodded, as though they actually were communicating with one another in their minds.

"Come on, Sensei Wu wants you to come back to the _Bounty_ anyway," Jay told Morro. When the shocked ghost didn't so much as move, Cole put his hands on his shoulders, directing him forward as he formed his dragon.

Morro practically had to be pulled aboard, and only grabbed onto Cole's gi as they took off, nearly falling backwards. It was then that he caught a glimpse of the glow in his pocket. It was the same shade as the strange veins on the young man's arm. Were they... connected?

For a moment, he almost said something, but it choked off before he could even manage to get the words to leave his mouth. Morro didn't even know why, it was as though he could simply not speak. Besides that... he didn't know anything for certain. It could well be nothing. He'd just wait.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be Continued..._

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **TheAmberShadow -** Thanks! And no problem, I'm just glad you're enjoying the series :)

 **Purplecatlover93 -** Thank you so much! And yes, he was. It really wasn't that much of a secret... there are much bigger secrets in this story :3

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** Noooo that would be too simple... Much, much worse things are in store for these children... mwahaha.

 **Anonymous7 -** Thank you! And so sorry for the longer wait!

 **DemigodElfNinjaPony -** Yes, he was the shadow ninja, but like I said earlier, I never really meant to keep that secret. But as soon as one is revealed, there's another few! Yay! amirite?


	5. Chapter 4: Nightmares and Decisions

**CHAPTER FOUR**

 ** _NIGHTMARES AND DECISIONS_**

The flight back to the _Bounty_ seemed like it was lasting an eternity, and yet it also seemed as if it were over as soon as it had begun. Cole's dragon landed on the deck and he frowned a little, noticing that Morro made no attempt to get off.

After he'd pushed the thought of the phial to the back of his mind, Morro had slipped deeper into shock. His failure was weighing on him like a heavy load of bricks, and his mind had directed itself in such a way that he was reliving his last—and only—murder. It had taken one blow to the head to injure the watchman—but even though he'd still been alive when Morro had left in Lloyd's body, the wind master knew that he couldn't have lived much longer.

Thoughts of what had just happened now and what had happened months ago raced through Morro's head and made him numb to the goings on around him until Cole climbed off of his dragon and stretched out a hand.

"Come on," he said, still frowning in confusion at the distressed and yet blank expression on the other ghost's face. "You need to get off, I've got to let my dragon dematerialize."

When Cole spoke to him, Morro jolted out of his thoughts for a moment. He refused the hand, climbing down himself, and stood on the deck, swaying just slightly on his feet as the dragon vanished in a cloud of dust. The other two ninja had landed and done the same by now. It only took a moment before the rest of the crew made their way on deck.

"Morro!" Wu's voice held relief as he approached, stopping a foot from where Morro stood, also seeming concerned upon seeing his first pupil's distressed look.

Morro glanced toward Wu, but found himself unable to speak to him. He looked at Lloyd, but only for a brief moment before he'd diverted his gaze, and then he finally let it settle upon Garmadon, who stood near Lloyd as the entire group was in near silence, awaiting Morro's imminent words—he assumed he should have had something intelligent to say by now. Maybe even a 'hello, Sensei' or even simply to acknowledge him with a tilt of his head and a quiet 'Master.' But no. Instead, his eyes riveted upon Garmadon, and particularly his unchained wrists.

"How did you get them off?" he asked. "Those chains were unbreakable." His voice still held a tremulous quality to it, and Garmadon's slightly worried expression was soon added to the others'.

"Nothing is completely unbreakable, and the fires of Torchfire Mountain were hot enough to melt through the chains," he explained, simply answering Morro's question—it was clear that the small ghost wasn't quite processing everything correctly at the moment.

After a few more seconds of respite, Wu stepped in front of him, placing his hands on his shoulders and looking him in the eye. "Morro, what happened? Are you alright?"

Morro broke eye contact quickly, falling silent for a few seconds before slowly returning it. The ghost sucked in a breath which came in ragged and shaky, and started trembling a bit. "H-he was dead... but... he wasn't... I failed... I wanted to save him... but he still died..." he finally choked out, his chest heaving with sobs.

Seeing no better choice than to comfort him as well as he could, Wu put his arms around Morro's shoulders and pulled the ghost against his chest. Morro didn't return the hug, but he did press his face into Wu's shoulder.

"We will discuss this tomorrow," Wu told him gently. "For now, you need some tea and some rest. I'm sure you haven't had any tea in quite some time, and we have a brew that is safe for ghosts to drink. Come."

Morro allowed himself to be led down below-decks, now silent, his gaze downcast and on the floor in front of him. Wu sat him down on a couch and in a few moments had brought out a warm cup.

Hands shaking still, Morro took it, staring at the liquid inside. It looked and smelled just like normal tea. He took a sip. It tasted like normal tea, but a bit... lighter, was it? He didn't know for sure. Wu left him with the mug for a bit, returning with a few blankets and a pillow. "Once you finish your tea, you should get some rest," he said gently. "I've already sent the ninja to bed, they must get up early tomorrow. You can sleep here on the couch for now, since I'm sure you wouldn't wish to share a room with them. Sleep in as late as you need to, we will talk about this in the morning."

Still sipping his tea, Morro gave a tiny nod. He said nothing, and once he'd finished nodding his attention turned fully on the tea.

Wu gave a quiet sigh, and then turned and left the room. Whatever had happened had shaken Morro greatly. He'd been right after all—It hadn't been good for Morro to be alone. He should have stayed with them from the beginning, rather than going off on his own like that. It had only led to bad things. Morro was much more fragile than he led others to believe, but Wu knew that he still needed the love and support of others.

-o-o-o-

From the darkness around him, Morro could hear whispers. They were indecipherable, but slowly getting louder and louder, and more and more pressing and urgent. Morro opened his eyes but saw nothing but darkness and faint wisps of green smoke. He looked around, but it was the same all over. And then, the voice suddenly became clear, and he felt his heart grow cold with dread.

 _You could have had everything... but now you will never have the chance to fulfil your dreams again. Traitor!_

Morro gasped. "You were destroyed!" he cried, eyes flying wide, taking a step—he thought—backwards as the Preeminent's voice echoed in his mind.

 _That is what you think... but no... I live on, through your failures... in your misery... you will never escape me... Nor can you escape the things you've done... you are too far gone._

"No!" the ghost cried. Unable to stop himself, he began to run as fast and as far as he could, his feet pounding on the ground. For a minute it seemed like he could feel his heart pounding in his chest along with them. The wisps of green smoke shifted and changed, turning the landscape into the dismal scenery of a darkened Cursed Realm. How had he come back here? He'd left this place! It had been destroyed.

"Morro!" he stopped short, looking around, his eyes wide and his look wild. There... behind him, he could see several souls, all of them ghosts as he was. He saw Wu... Lloyd... Bansha... the night watchman... the boy from the alley. All of them went on and on, a sea of pale, glowing, semi-transparent green. Morro stared.

"You have betrayed us all," their voices echoed in unison, in a monotone. Morro felt a chill as the haunting cadence struck his ears. "You have betrayed us all... you have destroyed us. No matter where you go, your failures will haunt you. No matter what you do, someone will suffer because of your deeds."

And then, as one, they glided toward him, surrounding him. Morro gave a cry, tucking himself into a ball as they floated around him, their murmured accusations sinking into his mind. He tried to block them out, desperately not wanting to believe them.

 _You have no purpose anymore, wind ninja. There is nothing left for you,_ came the Preeminent's voice. Morro gave a choked sob. He covered his ears. All he wanted was for this to stop... He'd tried, he was trying, he knew what he was doing was right. So why was it so hard? Why did he still feel as though everything was so wrong?

Just as suddenly as it had started, everything fell silent. Morro remained still and trembling, hands clasped over his ears. He stayed that way for a few moments before daring to open his eyes.

The first thing he saw were a few oddly concerned faces... the ninja.

Morro's body gave a jolt and he instantly was on his feet, taking a fighting stance, eyes wild with what appeared to be near madness—in this moment, this sudden moment, coming out of that awful state of limbo, he wasn't thinking. And it was a sad testament to the fact that he still saw the ninja as his foes.

Unfortunately, the ninja were just as ill-at-ease with him as he was with them. Almost instantly, Nya had readied a sphere of water and the others had taken up stances.

However, the water ninja's arm was struck by a staff. "Even after so much training, why is your first reaction to attack, rather than to examine your 'foe'?" Garmadon instructed sternly. "Nya, had you not restrained yourself, what you would have done could have been irreversible. Look! He is startled, not hostile!"

As Garmadon reprimanded the ninja, Wu moved to Morro's side. The ghost jumped a bit as he was tucked against his former master's side. He quickly relaxed, gaze dropping to the ground.

"Morro... you were dreaming. You are safe here, please believe me," he said reassuringly, his expression concerned. Morro had changed. He'd ever been so bold, so rash, so willing to jump headlong into anything. And yet now he seemed hesitant... even timid. Wu directed him back to the couch and gently pushed him back down. Then he glanced up at his brother. "I'm going to talk to Morro now. Would you mind working on some exercises on the deck?"

Garmadon shook his head. "Of course not... come along, ninja."

Wu sat down next to Morro as the others left and set another cup of tea down in front of the ghost. Morro reached for the cup, sipping from it.

"I didn't mean to... to seem like I was attacking," he murmured, his voice quiet. "I wasn't... I didn't exactly know what was happening. I was dreaming about the Cursed Realm... about the Preeminent... it felt so real..." he trailed off, deciding against saying anything about seeing Wu and the others.

Wu pressed his lips together. "Don't worry, I am sure all of the ninja understand. Morro, Cole told me about what happened in the alley, how they'd found you. Do you know what happened to that boy? The one you were trying to save?"

Morro blinked, and looked up toward his former master. Did he know? No. He had the phial... but he didn't know what it was, or who had used it, or why. He thought about the tube of liquid deep in his pocket, and briefly wondered if he should tell Wu about it.

No... quickly, he resolved not to. He had to do what he could to fix this... and that meant finding who had killed the boy and bringing him to justice. On his own. Maybe the phial would have a clue. Morro swallowed. "No... I don't know how or why he died. Or who it was that killed him... I was fighting... and he got away... and then he was dead." He took in a shaky breath just thinking about it. "I tried... I really wanted to save him, like I saved all the other people."

Maybe the Preeminent had been right... no matter what, failure would haunt him, he'd always hurt people. But that had been a dream. It hadn't been real. Dreams were lies, weren't they? They couldn't be true.

Wu nodded with a sigh. "I'm sorry that this had to happen. Morro... I know you don't feel like you'd be welcomed here. But I want you to stay here. Even if you don't' wish to join the ninja, at least stay here with me, where you will not be alone. I never stopped caring for you. You must know that."

Morro hesitated. Stay here? So much had changed since he had last stayed with Wu. So many things had happened... Morro didn't know how to feel.

And yet, what else would he do? At least this would be a safe base to try and formulate a plan for how to find the one that had killed the boy and take him down... and maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to practice his skills. He hadn't been able to really train since he'd been in the Cursed Realm. It could possibly be good for him... Morro swallowed, then looked at Wu.

"Alright," he said quietly. "I'll stay. But... but I can't promise I'll stay forever. If things happen, I might leave. I'm not... I'm not your pupil anymore, Master Wu... you have to understand. Things can't go back to the way they are."

The corners of Wu's eyes crinkled a bit and he smiled behind his beard. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that. You still called me 'Master' Wu, after all..."

Morro let a tiny smile flicker across his face. "I guess... I guess I did."

Wu rested a hand on his shoulder. "It is so good to have you back... I've missed you very much. I was hoping you'd agree to stay. Maybe you won't be a part of the team, but I'm sure I can still teach you a thing or two... how is your Spinjitzu? Last time I checked, it could use a bit of work. At least to get to the point where you can stay on your feet."

At this, Morro couldn't help himself. He flashed a grin. "Oh... I've learned a thing or two myself since last time..." he stood up, and quickly spun around the room in a dark green tornado, landing in front of Wu. "See?"

He felt a familiar curl of pleasure deep in his gut as he caught sight of Wu's look of surprise and approval. It had been a long, long time since he'd seen that. And it felt so good.

Wu nodded. "I do see. You've been training... much has changed. However... by the looks of your smile, I wouldn't say that things could never be... similar to the way they were. Come along, now. You seem better than you were last night, but I am sure that you could use a bit more distraction. Come train with the others. Maybe not _with_ them... but alongside them."

After a brief pause, Morro agreed, and the two headed to the upper deck.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be Continued..._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** Welp. I mean... we all know Morro's strong points are not logic and coping strategies...

 **Morro and More -** : D -passes cookies- u so sweet ahmg!

 **TheAmberShadow -** Lloyd is a cinnamon roll. This story is gonna establish his and Morro's relationship btw... and yes. The villain has arrived. Y'all have just gotta wait and see who it is.

 **Purplecatlover93 -** Haha yup that's kind of what I meant by not hiding it. And thanks so much! I like making the covers.

 **DemigodElfNinjaPony -** Danke. I try!


	6. Chapter 5: Tensions Rising

**CHAPTER FIVE**

 ** _TENSIONS RISING_**

It wasn't all that Morro had hoped it would be. Granted, it was just training—and still, training had been the singular thing that had consumed so much of his life and death thus far. However, for the first time, he felt a bit awkward. The ninja turned to look at him as soon as he'd come on deck. Morro had planned on taking one of the dummies for himself, but quickly decided against it, leaving for the quarterdeck and finding a spot up there to do some stretches.

After awhile, the ninja stopped watching him and went back to their own training. Morro had seated himself cross-legged and was attempting a bit of meditation—though he'd quite clearly chosen a bad time and place to do so. Still, he tried.

In a brief blink, he caught sight of Lloyd.

Morro had no idea what it would be like to speak to him. Obviously, he wasn't going to do anything like he had before... but that didn't mean he wasn't jealous. Morro still wanted to be the green ninja, and the fact that the title was firmly out of his reach made it even worse. He'd tried to accept it, but he couldn't. He'd worked so hard for it... he deserved something, didn't he?

The ghost sighed, standing up and moving to a secluded corner, tucking his knees against his chest. Maybe training could have worked... just not now. Morro didn't feel comfortable, not with the ninja around. Maybe he'd train at night while they slept, but he really needed a room of his own to hide away in... maybe he should just leave.

Pushing the thoughts from his mind—he'd told Wu he would stay—he made sure no one was looking and pulled the small phial from his pocket. Its glow had lessened just a bit. Morro carefully examined it. There seemed to be nothing that could tell him what it was, just that pale green shimmer winking back at him inside the bottle. He thought about the spidery, glowing veins.

Once he'd started making the connections, it was rather simple to see. This had to be some sort of poison. But what sort? And why had that poor boy been dragged into an alley to be poisoned? Morro held the little bottle up to the light, squinting a bit as he examined it closely, letting the sunlight filter through it.

Below, on the training deck, Lloyd frowned as he watched Morro hide himself away. A part of him really wanted to go see if he was alright—he'd seemed pretty badly off the night before—but then there was the part that was unsure. He was even unsure if he wanted Morro to so much as stay on the _Bounty_. After the battle, forgiveness had been easy. But now... now that things had settled and Lloyd had had the chance to begin having nightmares about when he was under Morro's possession... it was a little harder.

The green ninja wanted to forgive the ghost, particularly because Morro was clearly hurting a lot and needed forgiveness. But Lloyd hesitated. .It was in this moment of hesitation that a punching bag struck him in the side. Lloyd tumbled across the deck with an "oof!"

The other ninja looked at him, laughing a bit at the clumsy tumble he'd taken.

"And the Mighty Green Ninja has been defeated by the evil punching bag!" Cole chuckled.

Lloyd picked himself off of the ground, snorting softly. "Nah, it didn't defeat me. It just caught me by surprise—once. Hngh!" He sent a kick into the punching bag which broke free and skidded off to bounce against the railing. "Now the punching bag has been defeated... muahahaha!" He snorted, breaking off quickly.

Kai rolled his eyes. "Come on, we heard enough of that when you were trying to become the next dark lord by stealing candy."

Lloyd gave him a punch to the arm, then rolled his eyes a bit. Garmadon leaned against the wall, watching their antics with a slight smile. He didn't notice Wu until his brother had already addressed him. "Where is Morro?"

Garmadon blinked. "I think he went onto the quarterdeck," he explained. "I'm not sure he's ready to be with the rest of us."

"Yes, that is understandable. It was more than I could hope for, of course," Wu sighed. "No worries, I'll go talk to him. This ship is beginning to get a bit crowded for training, anyway."

He turned and headed up to the quarterdeck.

Hearing footsteps, Morro managed to tuck the phial away just in time for Wu to round the corner. "M-master Wu... I'm... I'm sorry I'm not training, I just don't think—"

Wu raised a hand and he cut off, watching as the old man came and sat down on a crate. It was odd. Wu had changed so much since Morro had been his student. Everything had changed, and this was exactly why he was feeling like he didn't belong. Maybe Lloyd had been right about more than his motives back in Stiix... maybe he really didn't belong here at all.

"Morro, I understand. You are not comfortable here yet. That is perfectly normal—you have a lot to adjust to," Wu assured him. "But you should still try. Nothing will change if you don't make it change. I know you can... I know you have enough determination within you. But you must want things to change."

Morro swallowed, tucking his fingers together inside the sleeves of his black robes. "I-I don't know... I do... but at the same time... I just don't," he muttered.

"Change is difficult. But it comes to all of us. Come... at least try to train with the ninja for a bit." He reached out and took Morro by the shoulder, pulling the ghost up to his feet. It didn't take much—after all, what else did Morro have to do? So he followed him down to the training deck. Wu finally removed his hand from his shoulder as the ninja paused to look at them.

"Lloyd," Wu nodded his head. "Please come train with Morro."

Both the ghost and the green ninja startled a bit, looking at him in shock. "But... But Sensei... is that a good idea?" Morro asked nervously. He and Lloyd had made peace in a way, but there was no denying the fact that there was still tension between the two of them.

However, Wu nodded. "Yes. You've shown yourself almost unbeatable, Morro, and I know you would be even in training, you've never been one not to give everything. Lloyd may be the only one of the ninja able to properly sharpen you."

Morro swallowed as Wu gave him a little push towards Lloyd. Garmadon did the same to his son, and the two stood in the middle of the training deck, facing one another. The rest of the ninja took a few steps back and sat down, watching them curiously, as the Masters stood back to do the same.

For several moments, the two ninja stared at one another's feet, occasionally looking back up toward their faces only to almost instantly break eye contact.

"Morro," Lloyd finally murmured, dipping his head slightly in recognition.

"Lloyd," Morro responded in kind.

Then the green ninja drew back and took up a fighting stance. Morro swallowed, drawing his foot back and bringing his arms to his side. There was a whistle in the air and then the _Bounty_ 's sails shivered a bit.

"No elements!" Wu called from the side, and Morro swallowed, looking a bit ashamed. Only for a moment, though, as he closed his fists to cut off the wind. There was another moment of suspense, and Morro thought he heard a sigh from off to one side. Both of them were hesitating—Morro really didn't want to strike first. That could give off an impression he didn't want to give off. But Lloyd didn't seem to be moving. Morro waited a few more seconds, and then gave up. He'd have to make the first strike. Quickly, he darted across the deck towards the green ninja, and when Lloyd made to strike at him, he dropped down, swinging his legs to try to knock Lloyd off of his feet before leaping back up.

Lloyd avoided the attempt, jumping upward and back. And so it began. It was a little different than their fight in Stiix. Without their powers, the fight was all done with simply their hands—and Morro proved to be no less aggressive this way. And yet, it wasn't like Cole's impressive displays of strength in combat. With Morro, he seemed weaker because of his size and the certain grace with which he exercised every movement he made. But they came with a flurry, a rush of cuts and strikes and spins, and each time he managed to land a blow it hurt considerably. Clearly, he wasn't holding back. Lloyd found himself hard-pressed as Morro's attacks continued to come. The ghost barely seemed to be exerting any energy, and was slowly but surely backing Lloyd against the wall.

Whenever Lloyd got the upper hand even for a few seconds and began to strike out at Morro, rather than a constant defence, the ghost didn't parry his strikes—rather, he ducked and jumped and flipped, avoiding them. It was a tactic he'd learned and practiced—if your opponent is allowed to carry their swings and cuts through, they'll expend more energy and thus tire more quickly, and it was working. Lloyd felt his breathing increase.

For the first few minutes of the fight, there was tension between the two, but it was beginning to lessen. After Morro's initial roll, it seemed that he had let up a little, allowing himself to back up—though it was still a part of his plan to tire out Lloyd, as the green ninja still barely managed to land a single hit on him. The beginning of the session had been tense, but now both seemed to be moving fluidly, the only tension from the fight itself, not from who they were fighting. It was as though their past and identities had faded, and all that they were thinking of was their next move.

Wu and Garmadon both noticed this, and the brothers shared a relieved look. But it was a little too soon for them to celebrate, as the present situation couldn't—and didn't—last forever.

Lloyd seemed to be winning—he'd managed to get a decent strike which had thrown Morro off a bit. Now, he had backed the ghost to the railing of the ship, and seemed ready to pin him and claim victory in the match. Morro, however, had a different idea. And it was here that the current state of not thinking of their past together was his downfall. He merely saw a way to gain back the upper hand and avoid the defeat he faced—so without really thinking, Morro jumped up, phasing through Lloyd and turning around behind him.

It was only after the others gasped and he caught sight of Lloyd's trembling knees that he realized what he'd done.

Morro froze, eyes lighting up with something akin to horror. "Lloyd... I-I... I didn't..."

But it was a bit too late for that. The green ninja lashed out, sending a buzzing green ball of energy his way that struck him in the side, sending the ghost skidding back and slamming against a piece of training equipment.

Lloyd's face was stained with tears, his fists clenched at his sides, his body shaking. Garmadon stepped to intervene, but was knocked aside by a gust of wind that Morro had sent toward the green ninja.

Lloyd gave a brief cry and nearly fell off of the ship. The two Senseis tried once more, but ghost and ninja had charged at one another, their hands locking together as each pushed against the other.

"How could you!" Lloyd shouted. "After everything... what made you think you should do that? What were you trying to do?!"

Morro clenched his teeth, and twisted his wrists, freeing his hands from Lloyd's grip and flipping backwards a few feet away. "It was an accident!" he snapped, indignation in his voice. The winds were whipping up around him, encircling both he and Lloyd inside a whistling sphere. Nya gasped, eyes wide, and made to shoot a jet of water at him, but Wu quickly struck it down.

"No!" he cried, as Garmadon rushed toward the two, but was knocked back by the sphere, which had been joined by a hum of green energy, locking them both inside.

Underneath of it, the fight had begun again, and this time the aim wasn't training—Lloyd was angry and upset, Morro was angry and bitter, and it was being unleashed within the spinning storm they'd created.

"I didn't even mean to do anything and you attacked me! What makes you so good? I haven't even tried to hurt you!" Morro yelled, trying to hit Lloyd, as the Green Ninja hurled spheres of energy toward him, which reflected and joined with the shield around the two.

"You possessed me! You made me hurt my friends... and you... you just went through my body... you didn't even care!" Lloyd cried, tears still streaming down his face as he fought off Morro.

But the ghost's anger and bitterness had gotten a hold of him, and he kept fighting even when Lloyd began to tire, and had started regaining control of his own emotions. Morro kept attacking him, and Lloyd was beginning to get afraid—had Morro really changed? Or had it just been for a time? Morro didn't seem to be stopping, and Lloyd didn't know when he would... when he was passed out from exhaustion? When he'd killed him? Lloyd knew that Morro wasn't really trying to kill him, he was just upset... emotional... and taking it out on Lloyd. But that inner fear that never left whispered that Morro had done it once—why couldn't he do it again? What was holding him to the light, and had he ever really been there?

Afraid, Lloyd decided that the best thing to do would be to take Morro out, to stop him from fighting and moving and let him relax—or pass out. So he jumped out of the way of the furious wind-master and thrust his hands into his pockets, into the deepstone-lined gloves he wore. Then he quickly ran forward and gave several quick strikes to Morro's sides—pressure points.

He hadn't expected to hear a shatter of glass, and then a moment later, the force field around them simply exploded. Lloyd was flung back against the railing, as with the others. Within seconds, Garmadon had jumped to his feet and run to his son's side.

"Lloyd!" he cried, taking him by the shoulders and picking up. "Are you hurt?"

Lloyd rubbed his hip, then his arm—the arm would be bruised a little, Morro had hit him particularly hard there, same with his hip. But he looked up at Garmadon and shook his head. "N-no... I'm fine." His voice trembled, as did his body, as Garmadon pulled him against him.

Then Lloyd's gaze fell upon Morro. He was lying a little bit away, and he wasn't getting up or moving, and he didn't seem to be breathing. Lloyd gasped. "Oh... Oh no..."

Cole had already moved over to him as Lloyd and Garmadon approached, and the ghost ninja knelt down, touching Morro's cheek. The master of wind gave a slight whimper and curled inward on himself, shaking hands clutching against his side. Cole began to move his hands, but Garmadon saw a flash of bright green and his eyes widened. Quickly, he knocked Cole's hand away. "No! Don't touch him," he rebuked sternly before carefully approaching Morro.

The ghost wasn't quite sure what happened. One minute he'd barely been able to see what he was doing, he'd felt so much anger, been so blinded, and now... it had all gone away and been replaced by a sharp, shooting pain in his side, lacing up through his body. Now he couldn't move. He felt numb—but that wasn't surprising. He always felt numb. But where his body used to obey his mind's commands, now it had stopped doing that. And it hurt. Stabbing pain shot through him everywhere at once. Morro briefly saw Lloyd, Cole, Garmadon, and Wu leaning over him, their features blurry, and then he shut his eyes. Slowly, the pain started fading.

Wu looked toward Lloyd. "What happened?" he asked.

Lloyd's hands shook a bit as he slipped to his knees. "I... I wanted to use pressure points... just to immobilize him until he calmed down... but then... something broke and that... that happened."

Wu pulled Morro's hand up and looked gravely at the glowing burns on his side. "It's poison... why was he carrying a phial of poison?"

Suspicious muttering passed between the ninja, but Wu quickly silenced them with a look. "We must not make any assumptions. Whatever it was, whatever it was for... it's affected him. I would be hopeful that it was only the fluid nature of it, but the sudden unconsciousness... I fear the worst. Come, help me take him down, Lloyd. Zane, please make sure the poison is cleaned up. It shouldn't affect you, as you are a nindroid."

Zane gave a nod. "Yes, Master," he agreed, starting to clean up the splattered poison as Wu, Lloyd, and Garmadon lifted the now unconscious Morro and carried him below the decks.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be Continued..._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** It is a very sensei thing. Tea is important. Also... Morro, bad things happen when you let yourself get angry. And when you hide stuff. Especially if its bottles of poison in your pocket. That's a great idea. Carry poison around in a breakable container. Whatever this son needs to become smarter and make better life choices.


	7. Chapter 6: Vigil

**CHAPTER SIX**

 ** _VIGIL_**

A set of measured footsteps paused outside of the closed door, and Lloyd looked up as it creaked open, before glancing back down at the unconscious Morro as he lay on a small cot near the couch. Garmadon's steps crossed the room and he stood next to Lloyd in silence for a few seconds.

"Son? May I sit down?" he spoke up after a bit.

Lloyd gave a small nod, and Garmadon sat next to him on the couch. For a moment, he joined Lloyd in watching the ghost, and then the green ninja spoke up.

"This is my fault," he muttered quietly. "I shouldn't have hit him like that... I shouldn't have reacted like I did when he phased through me..." He was silenced as Garmadon settled a hand on his shoulder, then turned him to look him in the eye.

"Don't blame yourself for what happened, Lloyd. You cannot help the way what has happened to you in the past has affected you. Neither you nor Morro were taking that into consideration... Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to put the two of you against one another so soon," he sighed, and rested his arms on his knees, releasing Lloyd's shoulders.

"I'll say," Lloyd responded, gently reaching out to touch Morro's forehead, but the ghost had become intangible in his unconsciousness and Lloyd's hand simply passed through. The green ninja shivered a little, even now. "I hope he'll be alright... What does poison do to a ghost?"

Garmadon shrugged slightly. "I do not know. I do know that because it is liquid it has burned him as well, but other than that I am not certain. I hope so as well. But please... don't think that this happened because of you. It was a mistake. You couldn't have known that he was carrying poison..."

Lloyd swallowed. "Th-that's the other thing," he admitted. "I didn't know that, I didn't expect that. It doesn't make sense, and I'm... I'm scared he was just lying... what if he really planned to do something? I wish I could trust him, especially since he saved you..."

"Shh," Garmadon pulled him against him, resting his hand on his son's head. "Don't think about that. Either way, we won't know until he wakes. There is no reason to worry over it." He gave a bit of a smile as Lloyd nestled into his side, and then he frowned again, watching Morro closely. The ghost wasn't moving at all. Garmadon knew that he wouldn't need to breathe, but it was still eerie.

Morro himself was in a state of limbo, slipping between complete nothingness and a vague awareness in which he could hear muffled voices around him but do nothing to respond. And then there were the other moments, where he relived parts of his life in the form of dreams. They shifted and changed around him, and Morro began to wonder what they really were like, he wondered if he actually remembered things correctly. But just as soon as he began actively thinking he'd slip off into nothingness again.

He didn't move for days, and neither did Lloyd. Lloyd remained sitting next to them. Sometimes his father, mother, or uncle would join him, and occasionally one of his brothers. But for the most part, Lloyd was alone.

Wu slipped into the room, carrying a pair of tea cups and wearing a set of deepstone gloves—the only way Morro could be handled in his state of intangibility. Wu set one of the cups in front of Lloyd. The green ninja gave him a tired look. "What's this?" he asked quietly.

"This tea is for you, because you seem to be exhausted and have had very little to eat or drink. The other is a healing tea. Zane analyzed the poison, and we discovered what it is, if not the source. It is designed to be a fast killer, a neurotoxin. But it kills by freezing the muscles of the heart. This is why Morro has not yet vanished—because he was dead to begin with, and lacks a heartbeat. The toxin itself still affects him, so I've brewed this tea in hopes that it will bring him back." Wu positioned himself besides Morro's head and tilted it up, carefully parting his lips and pouring the drink down his throat. Morro's form gave a little twitch and then went still once more. Wu gave a sigh, looking toward Lloyd.

"You should get some rest."

Lloyd nodded, though he didn't really plan on following through with it. Wu left after a few moments, leaving the two former enemies alone once more. Lloyd watched Morro, but there seemed to be no change. Finally, he turned and lay on his side. His face was fairly near to the ghost's ear like this.

"I'm sorry, Morro," he whispered. "I didn't mean to do that. I just wanted to stop you, not to hurt you. I know we're not... like... the best of friends... but I'll never forgive myself if you die again because of what I did. Please be alright. I'll... I'll try to get over everything that happened between us."

Then he swallowed a bit, looking over Morro, catching sight of the burns on his side. "I need you to wake up... at least to tell us what happened. Why did you have that poison in your pocket? I really need you to wake up, so you can tell us you weren't planning to use it on anyone here, or anyone at all... I really want to be sure you've changed. I know I saw good in you... even with all the awful things you did."

Lloyd reached his hand out, hovering it just above Morro's arm. "Come back, alright? You might not think you need anyone, but you can be stronger when it's more than just you. I wasn't sure about it, I'm still not... but I want you to come back. I want to really give you another chance. It'll be hard, but I'm willing to try, if you are. We're not really so different. You just didn't have someone to guide you. Now you can. I'm sorry for hurting you..."

His voice trailed off after a bit, and his eyes slipped closed. It had been three days since Morro's injury, and Lloyd could barely even keep his eyes open. He hadn't slept since then.

At about midnight, Garmadon came back into the room to check on him. He gave a relieved sigh when he saw Lloyd soundly asleep, one hand still resting on the edge of the cot, with a half-finished cup of tea on the floor next to the couch. He smiled, and lay a blanket over his son's sleeping form. "I love you," he whispered, kissing the top of Lloyd's head. And then he left the room.

Lloyd remained in the room for most of the time, but after that, he'd been persuaded to leave for a few hours each day while Wu sat with Morro instead. He usually spent those hours training with the other ninja, and just slept at night next to Morro. It had been two more days, and Wu had continued with the tea, but there still seemed to be no change in Morro. Lloyd was a bit worried, but he managed to push the worry to the back of his mind while with his friends.

"Hey, so... why are you so worried about him anyway?" Kai spoke up after a bit. "I mean... yeah, I know you're not feeling good about how you broke the phial, but why are you sitting there next to him all the time? Weren't you guys just fighting?"

Lloyd put down the katana he was practicing with. "Yeah. We were... but I just want him to know I'm not angry with him anymore. Maybe if I was there when he woke up... and could apologize... I want to let him know I never meant to actually hurt him."

Kai frowned. "I guess... are you sure you want to trust him though? I mean, the reason he really got hurt was because he lost his cool and was carrying poison..."

"Yeah... I'm gonna ask him about that," Lloyd agreed. "I want to trust him. He saved my father." He shrugged. "And I think he wouldn't lie. He'd know I'd be able to tell. I've been in his head, you know?"

Kai sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, I guess. Just be careful, alright?"

Lloyd nodded. "Oh, I will," he agreed. "But Morro deserves a chance too. I mean, look at who I was when you first met me? And I turned out to be the green ninja."

"That is true, you were a knucklehead," Kai snorted, ruffling Lloyd's hair, which earned a "hey!" from the younger ninja. After that, the subject was dropped, and they continued training.

-o-o-o-

It seemed to be an eternity, and Morro's condition barely changed at all. However, he slowly seemed to be recovering. Nearly a week after he'd first been injured, he showed signs of movement, his eyelids flickering, his fingers moving just slightly. But after that his recovery seemed to almost stagnate. Lloyd found himself worrying. What if Morro never did recover?

It was one morning just after dawn when he finally felt something cool brush against his arm. Lloyd blinked, still sleepy, having slept deeply that night and not especially fond of early mornings. He gasped a bit and sat up quickly as he saw Morro's hand fall back to the side of his cot. The ghost had turned his head a bit and was looking at him, seeming to be drowsy. Then his lips moved, but almost no sound came out at all.

Lloyd frowned, fixing his gaze upon him. "Wh-what, Morro?" he asked.

"Do... do you hate me?" came the reply, a little louder but still barely audible.

Lloyd looked away, then back quickly. "No... no I don't... I don't hate anyone... yeah, I don't like some of the things you did, but that's in the past and I shouldn't have let the past get to me like that... I shouldn't have hurt you..."

Much to his surprise, Morro gave a faint chuckle at that. "W-well... a-at least... we're even now," he whispered in response, the slightest of smiles on his semi-transparent face. "I almost killed you... you... almost killed me..."then he paused before continuing, "Of course... I-I guess almost destroying... a realm is worse."

Lloyd grinned. "Yeah, but like I said, it's the past. If you'll forgive me for hurting you... I can try even harder not to be angry at you anymore."

Morro nodded slightly. "Yeah... I-I forgive you... you don't even need to apologize, I deserved it..." He frowned a little bit, glancing down toward his side, which still ached horribly from the spilled poison. He was such an idiot, he should have just told them about it from the beginning.

Lloyd chose this moment to ask. "So... what... what was it for?" His voice seemed hesitant , tentative. Morro quickly glanced up at him.

"It... it belonged to the one that killed the boy in the alley... I wanted to... see if I could figure out what it was, who it belonged to... so I could bring him to justice..." he told the truth, seeing no reason to lie now—after all, his hiding things had nearly gotten him killed... again.

"Oh," Lloyd heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness! I was... I've spent all this time afraid you might have been..."

Morro's eyes widened, and Lloyd clearly didn't need to finish before the ghost shook his head. "N-no! Not at all... I wouldn't... I wouldn't do that anymore... I feel so bad that I got you so upset..."

Lloyd seemed so relieved that he leaned forward and gave Morro a hug around his shoulders. The ghost was shocked, but accepted it, looking at Lloyd with a puzzled expression as the green ninja drew back. "What... wh-what was..."

"I'm so glad..." was all Lloyd responded. "How... how do you feel anyway?"

Morro glanced around briefly. "I feel dead," he muttered, then gave a small snort. "No, really... I just feel weird. My side hurts a little, but not too much. And I'm kind of feeling pretty weak... like I have no energy left."

Lloyd nodded. "But... you're okay. I'm going to go get Sensei. Tell him you're up... he'll want to see you too. I'll be back soon!" He turned and left, looking for Wu. After a few minutes, he went up on deck. "Hey, have you guys seen Sensei Wu? Morro's up."

They shook their heads. "Nope," Jay replied, "Haven't seen him all morning."

Lloyd frowned, and it was just a moment before Zane confirmed, "He isn't anywhere on the ship."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be Continued..._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** He wouldn't have listened anyway lol.

 **Zena1421 -** Thankee!

 **Purplecatlover93 -** Yes, in fact, it is.


	8. Chapter 7: Missing in Action

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

 ** _MISSING IN ACTION_**

The most puzzling thing was that Wu hadn't told anyone where he'd been going—or that he was going anywhere at all. Not even Misako or Garmadon knew anything about his disappearance. After he'd asked his parents, Lloyd had gone to Wu's room and started looking for clues... but still, nothing. Everything seemed perfectly normal.

"Have you found anything?"

Lloyd startled at the voice, whirling around to see that a concerned-looking Morro, still holding his side, had phased through the wall behind him. He still seemed weak and unsteady on his feet, and was swaying a bit.

Lloyd shook his head, making his way over and touching Morro's shoulder to steady him. "No, nothing..." he sighed.

Morro looked up, leaning to one side to peer around the taller boy's shoulder. "Well, whatever it was, he left in a hurry, and it had to be something important," he pointed out with a shrug. "Unless he's gotten lazy too."

Lloyd frowned. "What... what do you mean?" he asked.

The ghost pointed, making his way over to Wu's vacant bed. "The bed isn't made," he explained. "Master Wu always makes his bed... or he used to. So it seems like he left in a hurry, in the middle of the night... that would be why nobody knows where he is." Morro seemed oddly unconcerned, though his expression told a different story—he really looked rather concerned. He swivelled his wrist a bit, blowing the sheets relatively flat, and then sat down.

"Wouldn't he have left... like... some sort of note? Or message? Telling you where he'd gone?"

The green ninja sat down as well and sighed. "I... would think so. I mean, probably he would have told us, or at least told Mom and Dad." He cupped his chin in his hand thoughtfully. Morro stood bad up and started pacing. His movements were still a bit stiff, but since he'd woken up he seemed to have recovered rather quickly. Lloyd was a bit surprised, but said nothing—Morro looked like he was thinking.

And he was trying to. But thinking had never been his best skill. He was more of a doer. He could put together a decent plan, but usually only with help did it work out. Finally, he sighed. "I sort of think... maybe he didn't leave, or maybe he did, but nothing about this is normal... I think something happened," he finally said. "Maybe we should go looking for him."

Lloyd nodded. "Come on, let's go see if we can pick up his beacon anywhere on the bridge," he beckoned, and stood up, leaving. Morro frowned a bit, not completely understanding what he was saying, but followed the Green Ninja nonetheless. Soon he got an idea what Lloyd had been talking about as they got to what appeared to be the ship's control room. Morro looked around a bit, not having gotten a very good look at it before. There were a lot of confusing buttons and levers and controls.

It seemed that the others had had the same idea, as they'd gathered on the bridge and were staring up at a large screen which showed a map of Ninjago.

"I can't find him anywhere," Nya muttered, giving it another sweep, and then stopping, turning back to look at the others. "Sorry... he's not sending out a signal... Maybe he's okay... maybe he just wanted to go for some spontaneous reason..." She didn't seem to believe her own words, though, and neither did anyone else. But still, there wasn't anything else they could do. Or so it seemed.

Morro set his jaw. He felt a sick feeling deep inside... and somehow, he just knew this was all connected. Wu wouldn't leave his bed in disarray. He wouldn't vanish without any notice. Something had happened. And Morro had a feeling it had something to do with the owner of the poison phial.

The ghost slipped back to his own room as the ninja started dispersing, and took the blanket off of his bed, carrying it down to the kitchen. Maybe they would give up and wait, but Morro wouldn't do that. Wu was the closest thing to family he'd ever had, and he still had a lot to make up for. If Wu was in danger, Morro wasn't just going to leave him there. He was going to find him, no matter what.

Morro took some food off of the shelves, just a bit, and put it inside the folded blanket. He spread his hand and summoned a staff, then began tying the blanket onto it.

"What are you doing?" Lloyd had come into the room while Morro had been busy. The ghost startled, turning to look at him. He set his jaw firmly and swallowed hard, looking the green ninja square in the eye.

"I'm going to find Sensei," he replied. "I have to do this."

Morro was suddenly transported back forty years. He'd been just a little smaller than he was now, and had looked at a much younger Wu with the same firm expression. "I'm going to find the tomb," he'd said, in almost the exact same way, "I have to do this."

He was startled out of his recollections by Lloyd touching his shoulder. "Hey. I'm not stopping you, alright?"

Morro blinked once and gave a slight nod. "Good... because... because you couldn't, even if you wanted to. Wu was the one who convinced me to stay here. Now he's gone... so I can do what I want to. I can leave whenever I feel like. And I'm not just going to—"

Bravely, Lloyd reached out and pressed a hand over his mouth. Morro's eyes widened in surprise, but he did fall quiet as the green ninja continued. "Shush. I said I wasn't stopping you, but I you didn't let me finish. Sensei is right. It's not good for you to be alone, you saw what happened. Besides, you won't get far without a dragon, and I know you can't make one on your own, unless you learned that along with Spinjitzu."

The ghost looked away, shaking his head slightly. "No, I didn't. But I can walk... I'll be fine."

Lloyd sighed. "Yeah, and you might be too late. I'm coming with you. We're all going to split up and start looking. But even though you say you like to be alone and work on your own, it's not good. We can ride my dragon, and I'll help you look. Two of us will be better, anyway."

Once again, Morro found himself very surprised as he looked up at Lloyd. "Really? You'd... want to come with me?"

"Yeah," Lloyd nodded. "Now I'll get ready, then we'll head out. I've already told the others." He turned around, and Morro watched him with wide eyes and an almost shocked expression. He could barely believe that Lloyd had actually offered to come along with him, where it would be just the two of them together. Was he... not afraid at all anymore? What had changed while Morro had been unconscious?

Evidently not that much, for when Lloyd returned he was dressed not in the lightweight Airjitzu gi, but in the heavier deepstone. Morro fought to hide a frown, but it slipped onto his features anyway. So Lloyd still didn't trust him. It was to be expected, but that didn't mean Morro actually liked it.

Soon, the two of them had gone onto the deck, and Lloyd made his elemental dragon. "Get on behind me," he instructed, mounting it, and Morro did as he'd said. He had to admit, though, the deepstone was easier to hold on to, and let him break his concentration. It was beneficial, considering the fact that Morro was still weak from the poison and from lying down unconscious for days. The ghost tried to imagine that Lloyd had worn deepstone for his comfort, rather than because he was afraid, but that didn't work too well. He knew that Lloyd would probably never trust him. He really wanted to be okay with that, but just like the fact that he'd not been named the green ninja, Morro didn't think he'd be able to accept that Lloyd didn't trust him either.

He continued brooding in silence for a while, but eventually Lloyd turned back a little bit. "So, do you have any idea where to start looking?"

Momentarily jolted from his reverie, Morro thought. "We could check the old monastery, maybe?" he suggested, and then paused. He'd had a hunch that Wu's disappearance was connected to the poison—these sorts of things had always been connected. He swallowed a bit. "No... I think... maybe a better place would be the sewers under Ninjago City. That's where the person I was fighting disappeared to."

Lloyd frowned a little. "You think... they'd have something to do with it?"

Morro shrugged. "I mean, do you have any better ideas?"

The green ninja shook his head, and they continued on toward the city. Morro watched the way Lloyd's hair fluttered in the wind as they flew, and he held one arm out to the side, sighing a bit. One of the things he missed most was being able to feel the wind. He could still control it, but he was numb to it. It had been so close to him throughout his life, and now... if there was one thing he'd change, he'd make it so he could feel the breeze.

Lloyd noticed his wistful expression. "What's up?" he asked with a very slight frown.

Morro blinked and sat up. "Nothing... I'm just... thinking." He sighed.

For a moment Lloyd let him be, but then after thinking, he decided that it would be best to try to get Morro to be a bit more open. It would probably do the ghost good. "Thinking about what?"

The ghost startled, seeming surprised that Lloyd had pressed it, and then he swallowed, looking away over the clouds that passed beneath them. "I uh... I dunno... About stuff... different things... but..." Morro sighed, shrugging. "Honestly, it's mostly about the wind. Does it feel good to you?"

Lloyd gave a frown. "Yeah... it does. It's nice. It sort of makes you feel free."

"Yeah," Morro nodded, and very hesitantly leaned forward to rest his chin on Lloyd's shoulder. He was starting to feel sort of tired from the flight and the energy he'd expended beforehand. Lloyd tensed up a bit, but then he relaxed again.

"You can't feel it, can you? As a ghost. When... you know, when I was in your head... I noticed that you almost seemed to get... happy over certain things. Little things that didn't make sense at all... but now they kind of do. Especially with Cole getting used to being a ghost."

Morro shook his head. "No... I can't feel it. I really... wish I could. There are a lot of things I miss about being alive, but there's so much I can do as a ghost... I really don't mind being one. I still have my powers, and I'm stronger than ever. I've just got to accept that some things have to be sacrificed."

"Things you love... are you sure it's worth it if you have to give up what makes you happy?" Lloyd tilted his head, turning to look at him out of the corner of his eye.

Morro quickly stiffened, looking away a bit. "I-I... I'd rather... not talk about this." He cut off abruptly. The subject was a little sore, partially because Morro was still trying to convince himself about all of it. He really wanted to be happy. And yet he never actually felt happy. He was confused, still trying to figure things out.

Luckily, this time, Lloyd relented, but only because they'd reached the city. Lloyd landed his dragon in the park and climbed off. Morro hopped off behind him. "It's... it's this way, where the fight was," he nodded and started off. This time, he didn't bother going invisible. But since he was with Lloyd, the odd stares he was getting seemed to dissipate more quickly. Subconsciously, the ghost edged closer to Lloyd, hiding within his shadow. Lloyd blinked a little bit, watching him, but let him stay close.

Soon, Morro pointed to an alleyway. "This is where it was," he explained. They stepped inside, and Morro looked around and took a deep breath, quickly possessing the manhole cover and peeling it off. Then he hopped back out. Lloyd glanced at him, seeming to shiver a little bit, and Morro felt ashamed. But he pushed the feeling aside and pointed at the hole. "Here we are..."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be Continued..._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **Purplecatlover93 -** I cannot tell you that mwahahaha.

 **Zena1421 -** How can you tell? lolol.

 **DemigodElfNinjaPony -** 3 aww thanks!

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** Is that the best you could do? You should be ashamed of yourself...

 **TheAmberShadow -** He's vacationing on a tropical island... not.

 **Morro and More -** The punching bag wins every time.

 **Anonymous7 -** They've still got things to work through, but their relationship is one of the main focuses of this story.

 **thearomanticninja -** It's coming, never fear...

 **DerpiestDangDiamond -** dawww thanks so much! It's my favorite too. Probably because of the absolute creative freedom (tm) I have here.

 **Molly654 -** Welcome to my horrible story universe! I hope you enjoy your stay :3


	9. Chapter 8: Into the Depths

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

 ** _INTO THE DEPTHS_**

Morro stared down into the blackness beneath him, not making a move toward it. Just like the first time, he hesitated. Lloyd noticed the ghost's hesitation and frowned. "What are we waiting for?" he asked. "Let's go."

"No... it's... uh..." Morro stammered, unwilling to admit he wasn't comfortable with caves and dark tunnels. "It's... it's a sewer. There could be water down there." He clasped his hands behind his back, taking one step back.

Lloyd frowned, but shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. I'll go first." He hopped down, landing underneath the city. "It's dry, come on down!" he called back up a moment later.

Morro just swallowed. "A-alright," he muttered, and then he slowly moved to the edge of the hole. "I'm going to jump straight down, just so you know," he called down, and then shut his eyes, leaping through the hole and easily landing on his feet. Then, he looked up, taking in a deep breath. "Okay. We should start looking for clues."

Lloyd nodded, and they began walking. Morro edged a bit closer, but he could barely even see Lloyd. Without noticing, he reached out and gripped Lloyd's sleeve, making the green ninja jump.

"H-hey... Is that you?" he startled.

"Yeah... sorry," Morro pulled his hand back quickly, seeming to be ashamed.

Lloyd sighed, shaking his head. "It's alright. Maybe I should get a light..." He extended his hand and created a glowing green orb that lit the path in front of them. Morro sighed in relief, relaxing and giving Lloyd a bit of space.

"That's a lot better," the ghost agreed, and they continued walking. "I really have no idea what to start looking for... but the person who had the poison disappeared down here..."

"Huh," Lloyd frowned. "The Serpentine live down here, but they're peaceful now... maybe a gang?"

"No, there are usually more than one of them. This one was different... and he knew how to fight too." Morro replied, "I had a tough time with him. The gangs were easy." He made to walk forward, but Lloyd's arm struck him in the chest, sending him falling back. "Ah! What... what was that for?!" he shouted, wide-eyed.

"Water," Lloyd replied. "There's about four inches of it from here on. But the good news is that the tunnel opens up and seems to have light ahead."

Morro nodded, he could see the slight glow as well. "Thanks for stopping me," the ghost muttered. "Last thing I need is burned feet. So uh... we've got to keep going. Maybe I stay here?"

Lloyd remained quiet for a few seconds, seeming to deliberate. Then he took a breath. "No... just get on my back, alright? I'll carry you for a bit." He crouched down a little bit—Morro could just barely see the outline of his form against the faint light from up ahead.

He gave Lloyd a surprised look, though he knew the green ninja wouldn't be able to see it, and then shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Okay. If you're sure." He reached up and put his hands on Lloyd's shoulders, hopping up and wrapping his legs around his waist. He felt the ninja shudder slightly and again had to push down a bit of a sick feeling in his gut. Once secure, he nodded. "I'm on."

"Yeah, I can tell," Lloyd muttered in response, starting forward. Morro flinched a little as he heard the slosh of water around Lloyd's feet, purely out of reflexes. Lloyd was fairly tall, and walked quickly, so soon they'd reached the open area. Here there were some pathways, and Lloyd quickly deposited Morro on the solid ground. The ghost regained his footing and started looking around.

"I can't see anything at all," he groaned, walking a few steps forward and back and finally leaning against a railing. Lloyd was doing the same, searching where Morro couldn't go. The pair finally rejoined on the pathway. Lloyd sat down cross-legged, and Morro did the same. The two were quiet for a while.

"Maybe we should just go back," Morro finally spoke up. "He's probably back on the ship by now and perfectly fine. Maybe we're just... overreacting."

Lloyd pursed his lips. "Hm. Maybe. But still... what if we're not?"

Morro shrugged. "I mean... how would whoever it was have gotten into the _Bounty_ while we were all sleeping? And why would they steal him? Maybe Master Wu just wanted to go out for some reason." He tapped his fingers lightly on the ground, looking up at the pale light that filtered in through a grate in the ceiling.

It really seemed like Morro had a point there. After all, if anyone had been taken, it most likely would have been Lloyd. Lloyd always seemed to get the short end of the stick when it came to being kidnapped. He'd had a target on his back from the moment he'd become the green ninja. From the very personification of evil and darkness to the small ghost he sat across from, it seemed like everyone wanted Lloyd and his power. So why Wu, then?

Finally, he sighed, standing up. "Come on... let's keep looking. Maybe you could go up and search one of the higher passages?"

Lloyd had expected Morro not to mind this idea, but the ghost scrunched his nose up a little bit, seemingly in distaste. He tilted his head a bit in confusion, but soon got an answer from Morro.

"You don't really know what it's like down here... I lived on the streets for years. These sewer places... they're a disgusting breeding ground for all kinds of scum. Gangs, murderers, thieves, they all hide out down in places like this. Probably because only stupid idiots would want to come down here," he explained, looking around and wrinkling his nose.

"Stupid idiots like us?" Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

Morro rolled his eyes. "Yeah, pretty much... I mean I never claimed to be the smartest person alive. I'm just the best at what I do."

"You still think that, don't you?"

"Well... yeah... why not?" Morro frowned, crossing his arms. "I've still trained longer than you. You might have more power, but... whatever. What I mean to say is that we should probably stick together instead of dividing up. I'm pretty sure that it would be a bad idea to part ways. Besides, this place is like a maze. We'd get lost. And it's all dark. Wait... what's so funny?"

Lloyd gave a little snicker, and Morro frowned. "You... you don't like the dark, do you?" the green ninja teased. "You're scared of it."

"Am not!" Morro protested. "I'm not scared of anything. And besides, it's not even the dark itself. I don't like dark tunnels and caves, okay? I'm not scared, I just don't like it, because I died in a dark tunnel... well... it was a dark tunnel full of lava so I didn't exactly die in the dark... still..."

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure... whatever. Fine, I won't say you're scared. And we'll stick together. After what you said, it's probably a good idea anyway."

Morro released the tension in his shoulders that he didn't even know he was holding, and stood back up. "Okay," he nodded. "Let's check one of the higher tunnels then, so I won't have to ride on your back. Because... no offense... that's a little weird and awkward."

"You think so? I'll say," Lloyd nodded. "That's a good idea. I'd rather not have to carry you on my back. Coming?" He used airjitzu to reach a ledge above them, and Morro followed. Once the two had landed, they entered a tunnel. This one wasn't quite so bad as the other. There were periodic gratings that let in the noon sunlight, and it was drier. Above them could be heard the whirring of moving vehicles. This one evidently ran directly beneath or alongside the street. Lloyd walked slightly ahead through the narrow passage, and Morro behind.

"We should keep an eye out for any places where it branches off," Morro suggested. "That's where whoever it is would most likely be holed up. It's the least likely place someone would look, especially if it's a little branch."

"How do you know all this?" Lloyd frowned. "And wouldn't they drown in the rain?"

Morro shrugged. "To answer the first, I lived on the streets, remember? I've had experiences with gangs and criminals. And for the second, of course not. They'd have some sort of platform built, or have found one that already existed. And it wouldn't be their main base. That would be somewhere else... a catacomb, or a condemned basement... or basically anywhere out of the public eye and out of earshot. Usually they've got a passage into the sewers too."

Lloyd nodded, shivering a bit. "I just don't understand why there are people like this..."

"Even after everything?" Morro frowned. There was a brief pause, and Lloyd sighed.

"Yeah. Accepting the fact that bad people are out there and need to be stopped is different than understanding why there are people who want to hurt others just for fun."

Morro was quiet, looking toward the ground as they walked. "Yeah... I mean... you're so—" he cut off very suddenly at a cry from Lloyd, and he spun to look, just in time to see a blonde head and bright green gi vanishing down a hole. Morro gasped, quickly moving to the edge, but he couldn't reach him. "Lloyd!" he yelped.

There was no reply for a few seconds, and then Lloyd's voice called up, "I-I'm okay! I think... I think you'd better come down here. Don't worry, it's safe... there's just some things you need to see."

Morro nodded. "Alright, I'll be there!" he called back, and quickly slipped into the tunnel. He shut his eyes as he let himself go, and didn't open them until he'd toppled onto the ground. When he did so, he saw that they'd stumbled into a small room. There were some machines and vats. One, in the corner, was giving off a green glow that lit up the room. Morro couldn't help but shudder at the sight as he hunched back. The sickly green lighting reminded him of the Cursed Realm, and anything that reminded him of that awful place was automatically a very bad thing.

Lloyd watched Morro's reaction, frowning a little bit as he watched the ghost's eyes dart around, and saw the way he had tensed. He looked like he was ready to flee at a moment's notice, and Lloyd honestly was a bit worried—he'd never expected to see Morro like that. He took a step toward him. "Hey... are you alright?" he asked, his brow knitting together as Morro turned to look at him.

The ghost nodded. "I'm fine, yeah. It's just... this reminds me of things I don't especially like to be reminded of." Shaking off his nerves, Morro stepped toward the glowing vat, tilting his head to one side. It looked like...

His eyes widened, and he turned to look at Lloyd. "Hey... this... this is the same stuff as the poison I was carrying!" he announced, in a voice that was barely above a whisper. Lloyd walked over quickly, examining the liquid.

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah... it looks exactly like it..." He swallowed, once again looking around the room, but there was no sign of movement, just the two of them. He looked over the other equipment. "It's like we've found some kind of... laboratory or something," he muttered, blinking and prodding at a bit of tubing.

"I think so..." Morro caught sight of a leather-bound volume sitting on one of the tables and picked it up. "I think... it's more than just a laboratory though... I think we found the murderer's lair!"

As he spoke, there was a soft chuckle. Instantly, he froze, eyes widening, and looked toward Lloyd. The green ninja looked just as startled—so the chuckle wasn't inside his head. This place was getting to Morro, he could barely distinguish between it and the Cursed Realm, it seemed. Still, he looked for the source of the chuckle—but there was no one in there, not that he could see. And then, he felt a force on his hand and the book he was holding fell to the ground. Morro jumped backward, stumbling into Lloyd, who struggled to regain his footing as the two almost instinctively went back to back. They prepared for a fight.

"Hmmm... no... unfortunately, all I think you've stumbled upon is the wrong place at the wrong time," sneered a silky voice as a cloaked figure stepped out from behind a piece of machinery.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be Continued..._

 _-_ o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** Aww but where would the fun be in that?

 **Guest -** Yeah, I know. But this is an AU, which is a continuation of two of my other stories. Also, Shadow (who is actually Shade) from season 4 wasn't a ninja, but a master of Shadow. Morro is known as the shadow ninja because he's using a shadow form a la winds of change and because he fights like a ninja, which is obvious because he's had ninja training.

 **thearomanticninja -** but dying in there would be so anticlimactic... we can do so much better things...

 **TheAmberShadow -** They're starting to get along, but it's a process... so yeah.

 **Angel Star Ninja -** Daww thanks! I love all these silly lego characters way too much and they're fluffy and good.

 **Molly654 -** You'll hafta find out lol. Also, here. -hands cookie-.

 **Anonymous7 -** You'll find stuff out soon enough, probably within the next few chapters teehee. Or... maybe next chapter... idk.

 **Morro and More -** Thank you! I never need an excuse to write my brotp...

 **Purplecatlover93 -** Hmmm. Maybe. I dunno.


	10. Chapter 9: The Traitor's Payment

**CHAPTER NINE**

 ** _THE TRAITOR'S PAYMENT_**

As soon as the attacker revealed himself, Morro forgot all about Lloyd and their battle stance. The master of wind charged forward in an attack. This was the same cloaked fiend that had murdered the boy in the alley, the one he hadn't been able to defeat. Well, this time it would be different. Ignoring Lloyd's cry, Morro made to strike the enemy at a pressure point in his side.

Instead, he felt an impact in his gut that sent him flying backwards, with a crash, into a stack of equipment. It clattered to the ground as Morro scrambled to his feet. He prepared to attack again, more carefully this time, but Lloyd's voice stopped him.

"Morro don't!"

Morro looked to see that the figure had already caught Lloyd by the shoulders and held a blade, tipped with the glowing green poison, to his neck. He froze instantly. One wrong move could mean the green ninja's life, and Morro hadn't come all this way just to let him die. But he wasn't expecting what came next at all.

There came a soft chuckle from beneath the hood. "Well... it's so nice to see you again," the attacker purred.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Morro asked, swallowing. "I'm going to kill you... you killed innocents..."

Another laugh followed this. "Isn't this amusing... killing innocents, yes... it's fun, isn't it? They don't even know what's coming for them. Oh... what was your name again...?"

"It's Morro... and I have no idea what you're talking about. I never told you my name." The ghost shifted uneasily, trying to discern the fiend's identity but unable to do so because of the hood that covered his face. The knife was uncomfortably close to Lloyd's throat, and the green ninja's eyes were wide as he tried desperately not to make any sort of move at all.

"Oh, of course... come now, we have what we need. You can drop the act. The plan has gone brilliantly," he purred, and Morro instantly took a startled step back, feeling his heart sink as Lloyd's gaze fell upon him in an instant. There was a look of hurt betrayal in the ninja's eyes.

"M-Morro... all of this... what?" he asked weakly, staring at the ghost, who seemed to be backed into a metaphorical corner as well as a little one. "You... how could you? I thought..."

In a moment, the knife was pulled away from Lloyd's throat, and the stranger quickly struck him in a few places. Lloyd's eyes rolled back and he crumbled unconscious to the ground. Morro gasped, running forward and collapsing next to him. "Lloyd! No... I don't know..." he looked up, and anger flashed through his eyes as he jumped back to his feet.

"Who are you? What do you want? Where's Master Wu? Why did you say that I was plotting something with you when all I've ever done is try to defeat you?" he shouted, his hands clenching into tight fists at his sides. The only response he received was another smooth chuckle.

"Mmmm... what was that they say? Oh yes... a house divided against itself cannot stand. Isn't that it? Now... Lloyd doesn't trust you in the least," he sneered, and Morro scowled.

"That's not true... we've made peace, we're friends now. I came down here with him!"

"Ah yes, of course. And you're such good friends that Lloyd wore his deepstone gi so that he could show it off to you, didn't he?"

Morro looked away. There was no way he could argue with that—the truth was that Lloyd didn't really trust him and most likely, he never would. Not after everything that had happened, everything that Morro had done to him. The ghost set his expression again, glaring back at the hooded figure. "Sure, it's easy to get him not to trust me. But he's never going to trust you, and I'll find a way to prove that I wasn't involved with this." He grabbed the cloth of the cloak. "Where is my Sensei? What did you do to him and why did you take him?"

"I have no idea what you mean, boy... I haven't seen Master Wu in ages..."

"You're lying!" Morro accused quickly, glaring sharply. "You're lying, and I'm going to find him. Now, where is he?!" He reached out to make a ghost blade but the underside of his wrist was struck by the deepstone gloves the attacker wore and he felt his hand go limp. Morro gasped a bit, stumbling backwards and staring.

"Oh... don't worry, it's only temporary... but it will hurt for a while..." the figure stood over Lloyd, seeming to tilt his head in deliberation. Morro felt cold from nervousness as he watched.

"Don't you touch him," he threatened, creating a blade in his other hand, stepping toward him. "If you lay a hand on him, I swear I'll—"

He didn't get a chance to listen as the fiend straightened, cupping a hand to the side of his head. "I'm terribly sorry... what was that now?" he inquired with mock curiosity as he reached into the pockets of his robe with his other hand. "I'm feeling rather... drowsy." As he pulled his hand from his pocket, Morro caught sight of a brief flash of color, and then he tossed something to the ground near Morro's feet. There was a crack, and a cloud of wispy, shining smoke rose up almost instantly. Morro jumped back, but not before he'd already inhaled and absorbed the smoke.

Morro swayed on his feet. His vision began to distort around him and he couldn't see anything clearly. It swirled around and spun. Each point of light became an agonizing blaze in his mind's eye and all he wanted to do was close his eyes and sleep. His senses kicked in quickly at that realization. It was a sleeping gas, meaning for him to drift off. Morro fought it and tried to step toward the cloaked attacker. "L-let... u-us.. g-go..." he stammered out, tongue feeling just as heavy as his eyelids as Morro took one step and then found himself on the ground. As the shapes of the attacker and the poison vat and Lloyd all blurred into one meaningless sea of color, Morro began to forget why he was fighting to stay awake at all. Before long, his mind had drifted, and his eyes had shut, and he'd fallen fast asleep.

The cloaked figure chuckled once more. "My, my... it seems like you were sleepy as well... Come along, Lloyd. We have some unfinished business to attend to. As for you..." he nudged the ghost with one foot. "I'm sure I can find some use for you as well."

-o-o-o-

Lloyd was aching in several places as he stirred from his sleep. At first he couldn't remember what had happened at all. And then, his eyes opened, and his gaze fell upon a set of dark metal bars surrounding him. Oh no... not again. Slowly, Lloyd sat up. He extended a hand and tried to reach for his powers, but there was nothing. Vengestone, again. How had he been captured this time, and who was it?

Then, he remembered. He remembered Morro, and a blade to his throat, and the ghost's unnerved and uncomfortable stance as his betrayal was announced. Lloyd felt sick to his stomach. How had he been so stupid? He should have known that Morro would turn on him. Just because Morro had saved Garmadon obviously hadn't meant that he'd changed or become a good person. Lloyd clenched his fists a little bit. Wu probably hadn't even been taken... Morro had probably just messed up the bed and sent him out somewhere...

What troubled Lloyd was how well Morro had hidden his betrayal. He'd never remembered the ghost to be such a good liar, but people changed. Maybe Morro had learned. Or maybe he hadn't really done it... No. Lloyd would never let himself doubt Morro's evilness again, not after this. It had been Morro's suggestion to go down into the sewers, Morro's suggestion to find small passages. Lloyd felt his eyes stinging with tears and reached up to wipe them off quickly. How had this all gone so horribly?

Suddenly he noticed that a cloaked and hooded figure was watching him. Lloyd stood up, gripping the bars of the cage. "Who are you? What do you want?" he called out angrily, shaking the bars. All that he got in response was a brief laugh, and the figure turned and walked away. It wasn't Morro. That laugh wasn't his. Lloyd looked around, but had no idea where he was. All he could see were a few areas lit by the occasional, faint torches. Other than that, he saw and heard nothing. He had no idea where he was. It seemed too dry to be the sewers still, and it lacked that ever-present dripping noise that he and Morro had heard in there. Besides, from what he could see, it was much larger. Of course, it wasn't as though he could see much. Still, wherever he was, he needed to get out of there.

Lloyd poked at the lock on the cage and reached for his pockets, only then to realize that he'd been stripped down to his shirt and trousers, his gi having been taken from him. He fought to quell the rising nervousness within him. Too many times he'd been locked up like this, and too many times horrible things had happened to him. He took a few deep breaths, sitting down. He had to get out, and then he'd find Morro. The ghost didn't deserve the second chance he'd been given. Lloyd would send him off to the departed realm for once and for all.

-o-o-o-

If Morro had thought that deepstone was bad, vengestone was decidedly worse. He'd never had it used on him before, but now he finally understood how Lloyd must have felt when he'd been locked up in the cage in Stiix. Not only did it have that uncomfortable feeling of solidity that Morro, as a ghost, was completely unused to, but it also introduced the absolutely maddening sensation of being unable to feel his elemental powers. While he probably wouldn't be using them as he was now, Morro still could barely stand the feeling of knowing their existence, and feeling them seemingly just out of reach of him.

His face contorted a little bit. He was seated in a chair that must have been plated with deepstone, his hands chained firmly to its arms, so tightly that it hurt. His ankles were in a similar position, but relative to the feet of the chair. The ghost flicked his head, letting his hair fall away from his eyes. Once he finally managed to calm down just slightly, he dared to look around where he was. It was a small room, not much bigger than his old bedroom at the monastery, but made of solid wood all around. There was wood panelling on the walls, on the floor, and on the door, wooden rafters up above which held up a wooden roof. The door's handle was wooden as well. Morro was alone in here. His gaze travelled over the grain of the wood for a few moments.

Then he took in a breath and tried to rock the chair forward. If he could get it on its side maybe he could find a way to get out of the chains, or loosen them, or something. But all he managed to accomplish was straining. The chair didn't move. It must have been fastened to the ground. Morro gave a groan of frustration and looked upward, leaning his head back and staring at the rafters. Clearly, he wasn't getting out of this one.

It must have been hours—or maybe it was only minutes, Morro had no idea—but he finally heard the door creak. Morro clenched his jaw slightly as the same cloaked figure from the sewer stepped inside. The ghost narrowed his eyes angrily, and was about to snap something, but faster than humanly possible the stranger slid over and had forced a band around his face. This one was just deepstone, but it still made him cringe to feel it against his face. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut as the gag was fastened over his mouth.

"Ah-ah-ah... no yelling, that could be a very, very bad thing," Morro's captor murmured, still in that silky, falsely concerned tone of voice. The ghost scowled, turning his head as he circled him, trying to keep him in his line of sight but unable to do so as the fiend passed behind him. He gave a shake of his head, uselessly trying to free his face from the gag.

The attacker brushed a finger over the device and Morro stilled. "Now, this won't stay on forever... only for as long as I feel that it is necessary, which is as long as you decide to be completely belligerent." He said no more for a few minutes and continued circling. Morro was tense, not knowing what was going on. And then, slowly, the gag was unfastened and his head was freed. Morro licked his lips, swallowing a bit.

"Who are you... why did you take me... where's Lloyd, and where's Master Wu?" he asked, making sure to keep his voice quiet—making someone wearing deepstone gloves mad at him while he was tied up probably wasn't the best of ideas. But despite his quiet tone, he got no answer from the mysterious figure. It was taking forever, and Morro just got more and more tense as more time passed. Why wouldn't he just answer him? Why was he so set on tormenting him like this? And then, finally, he spoke.

"Lloyd is doing fine, don't worry... he's settling into his lodgings, which are... cramped, but a bit less so than yours. You were the perfect scapegoat... now he will be too busy to think of revenge on you than to think on other things... such as the fate of your beloved Sensei." The fiend stopped in front of Morro, who gasped.

"Where is he? What did you do to Sensei?" But once more, there was no reply.

"Oh... nothing, yet... but his fate is inevitable. Still... I must decide what to do with you... I'm not completely sure how to kill you, and I cannot set you free and let you go running to the ninja, who don't know yet that you are a horrible traitor... I suppose I have no other option than to simply keep you here, where you can be closely watched," his hands moved to the sides of his hood. "I suppose you are wondering who I am, though, of course... I wouldn't expect anything else. Since you're not likely to ever see the light of day again, I suppose there's no harm in letting you know." It didn't take much, but he drew the hood down from his face.

Morro gasped, eyes widening at the sight before him.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be Continued_

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **A/N: Yes. I'm very, very evil. But don't worry, I've already started the next chapter and it should be up soon!**

 **REVIEW RESPONSES:**

 **FirstFandomFangirl & Purplecatlover93 - **You'll find out next chapter, but there are clues, yiss.

 **Morro and More -** I make lots of cliffies. Because I like pain. Get uuuuused to it!

 **MLGbilcipher89 -** Very good thoughts... Not giving anything a way, but Clouse does play a decently large part in the series soooo...

 **Molly654 -** You're supposed to be confused teehee.

 **DerpiestDangDiamond -** Actually I was thinking about the s2 episode "Wrong place, wrong time" but that works too!

 **thearomanticninja -** Indeed. They'll be missed.

 **TheAmberShadow -** Haha but it's usually Lloyd so that's what he's all 'waaaat' about.


	11. Chapter 10: With a Forked Tongue

**CHAPTER TEN**

 ** _WITH A FORKED TONGUE_**

It was a Serpentine. He was tall, even taller without his hood, with a long, graceful neck that stretched up above him. His red eyes held an evil glimmer, and his broad mouth was curled into a wicked grin. The most surprising thing, though, was that his scales were completely white, save for some purple markings. Morro stared at him, crouching back a little bit as the Serpentine leaned in toward him.

"Frightened? I'd have thought a ghost wouldn't be afraid of a snake... haven't you seen my kind before?" the snake purred, and Morro scowled.

"No, I'm not afraid... and you're an Anacondrai, aren't you? Like the generals who were sentenced to my realm. But... you're not like them," Morro remembered how the Anacondrai generals had refused to take part in the ghost army that Morro had formed to conquer Ninjago, how he'd been angered at that, and how the Preeminent had convinced him not to worry—that he wouldn't need them, and that they were a part of the plan to thwart destiny. "They'd never slink around corners, murder people, trap people, and lie like you did. They're far more honourable than that."

The Anacondrai shrugged thoughtfully. "Mmm... perhaps. But that doesn't really matter now, does it? I have you, I have Wu, and I have Lloyd Garmadon." He grinned impossibly wider, and reached up to let his tail stroke Morro's cheek. The ghost flinched away a little bit—the gesture reminded him of the way the Preeminent had caressed him before she'd drained his soul. A display of mock affection, one that alarmed Morro considerably. His reaction elicited a chuckle from the snake, who backed away after a moment.

"What... what do you want with Lloyd?" Morro asked. "You're not hurting him, right? And what about Sensei? And you're a snake, why do you need poison?"

"So, so very impatient," the snake chided. "You'll find all of your answers soon enough, never fear. But the poison, I can answer that," he smirked, leaning close to Morro. "It was a ruse. I managed to craft it, and then I dropped the phial when you attacked me, on purpose. Do you think I didn't know who you were? You were the old man's student, the ghost that attacked Ninjago, I've seen your statue in the museum. Oh, but you were trying to do good, I knew it was only a matter of time. So I waited, I kept trying, and then you came. I dropped that phial on purpose, to stir your curiosity, and made sure you saw my escape. It all worked perfectly."

Morro swallowed. The snake was right. He had walked right into the trap, and he'd led Lloyd into it with him. And now the green ninja thought Morro had been in on it all along. One stupid mistake had ruined everything. The ghost looked up and glared at the snake. "You're not going to win... if you know anything at all about me then you know I won't let you."

The serpentine sighed, shaking his head a little. "Do you know what is the most annoying thing ever? Your pathetic bluffing. You're just angry... angry that you're stuck here, you lost, and you can't do a thing about it."

"That's not true! I'm going to take you down!" Morro shouted, but instantly cut off in a pained grunt as the Serpentine's fist slammed into his gut. Morro felt his form wavering a bit, and shut his eyes, falling silent. He fought to regain his composure, but there was a splitting pain in his lower abdomen. He straightened up, glaring sharply, clenching his jaw despite the pain. His determined response only earned a chuckle from the snake.

"Oh, you poor thing. You won't stay so determined for long," he purred. "Soon I'll decide what to do with you, but until then, enjoy your stay here."

He snatched the lantern from the wall and left the room. Morro was plunged into complete darkness.

-o-o-o-

Once he'd left Morro alone, the Serpentine continued onward, down a few passages until he returned to the dimly lit chamber. A wicked grin stretching across his scaly features, he slithered forward. He turned his head up to look at the cage that hung suspended from the ceiling. "Hello, Lloyd," he spoke up, voice smooth and threatening. "It has been a very long time, don't you think? Far, far too long."

In an instant, Lloyd had jumped to his feet, eyes widening as he gripped the vengestone bars surrounding him. That snake was all too familiar—he should have known! "Pythor!" he shouted. "Wh-why are you here? What are you doing?"

"Finishing what I started," the Anacondrai hissed, approaching the cage. He pulled a lever and it dropped suddenly from the ceiling. Lloyd curled in on himself, trying to soften the fall, but it didn't work well and he slammed into the hard bottom of the cage as it hit the floor with a clatter. Feeling a little dazed, Lloyd sat up, rubbing the back of his head, which had come in contact with a bar. He felt dizzy and swayed as he stood up, gripping the bars not out of anger, but simply for support.

He took a breath. "You're going to kill me?" he asked, blinking. "But why... I never even did anything to you. Who are you working for this time?" He narrowed his eyes, and Pythor just grinned even more broadly.

"Why... I would have thought you would have known the answer to that," he sneered. "But he's let me have you... says he stopped needing you when his quest for the tomb was over." The snake slithered up to the cage, lifting up his head and grinning at Lloyd, who seemed almost hurt.

He shook his head. "No... there's no way Morro's behind all of this... These elaborate plans are what you do, not what he does," he replied, "You offered him something, didn't you? What was it?" Lloyd crossed his arms, taking a step back from Pythor. The snake just shook his head, tapping against the bars with his tail.

"He didn't need much persuasion... After all, you still have something he wanted," he smirked.

Lloyd looked down, once again taking in the sight of his state of dress, the absence of his gi. He felt sick to his stomach and sat down suddenly in the back of the cage. The green ninja gi. Maybe Morro hadn't changed at all... maybe he'd just wanted to be free from the Preeminent, to become the green ninja on his own... Maybe that was why he'd helped destroy her. Lloyd brought his knees up against his chest, shutting his eyes. Why? After everything, why had Morro betrayed him? Why couldn't he understand... Lloyd stopped thinking about it and took a deep breath. "So, what are you going to do to me?" he finally asked, quietly, nervously. In his current position, Pythor could do whatever at all he wanted to do and Lloyd couldn't do anything about it.

"Well, don't you remember when we first met? I told you that I loved revenge. Well, that I did not lie about. I want revenge on you, on your beloved Sensei, on your father... on everyone you've ever held close. Oh yes... and on Ninjago too," he smirked. "Your death will bring about that revenge perfectly. After all, what can the ninja do without their leader?"

"They'd do fine," Lloyd scowled. "They've done it before."

"Ah, yes, but you weren't actually... gone... forever. Still, I'm going to let myself be called unfair... I have a little idea, a chance for you to avoid your impending doom, but you must keep it a secret... understood?" Lloyd didn't reply to Pythor, so the snake simply went on. "I propose a Slither Pit, a fighting match, but not between you and I. Between you and Morro. You've fought before, haven't you? Oh, and you'd even be able to use your elemental powers."

Lloyd's eyes widened a little. What was this? Pythor had to be planning to trick him. The snake had always done that. The green ninja clenched his fists. Still, it was very, very tempting. Morro had betrayed him, and this fight... it could let Lloyd end him for good. As much as he'd wanted to trust Morro, and as hard as he'd tried, in the end, it came down to what was best for Ninjago. And that evidently meant getting rid of Morro. He stood a little straighter, regarding Pythor with a suspicious expression. "What happens if I win? And this had better be a fair contest."

Pythor tilted his head to one side. "Ah... well, if you win, you'll be able to go free. If Morro wins, he will be the green ninja. The fight will, of course, be fair—you'll be given a deepstone weapon, and Morro has his own blades, you know?"

It was the perfect opportunity. Even if Pythor was lying and would kill Lloyd if he won, he'd still be getting rid of Morro's threat. He spent every day of his life facing possible death, and this would be no different. Without thinking it much further through, Lloyd gave a nod. "Fine. I'll do it," he said firmly.

-o-o-o-

Time ticked by meaninglessly in the darkness. Morro had long since shut his eyes and tried to imagine himself elsewhere. He'd firmly decided that he disliked the dark, and especially disliked it when he was bound and unable to do anything to defend himself. While the maddening sensation of the vengestone cuffs had begun to fade away, Morro's mind was occupied with a rising restlessness within him. He shifted his position, trying to wriggle out of the cuffs, but they were on far too tightly. So now he simply sat there with his eyes closed, thinking about other places. One in particular was the old monastery. He'd just begun to repair it. He thought about the courtyard, where bits of grass had begun growing from the ashes, where all was silent but the chirping of the occasional bird. He thought about his room, and the picture on his dresser. He felt a burning sensation in his eyes. Wherever Wu was, and whatever was happening to him, Morro knew it couldn't be good.

His thoughts were interrupted by the door opening, and once again the lantern lit up the room as Pythor entered. Morro couldn't help but give a sigh of relief as the light shone in. Pythor chuckled softly, hanging the lantern on a hook. "Well, well... you seem pleased to see me."

"Not you," Morro replied, narrowing his eyes a little bit. "I'm only glad that there's something to do besides sit here and hate you... now I can stare at you and hate you."

"Quite funny... because I was just about to give you something else to do. Now... you cannot refuse, because you will come with me whether you like it or not. He pressed a button on the back of Morro's chair and the cuffs sprang off. There was a burst of wind in the room as Morro jumped up, but Pythor had already fastened a pair of vengestone cuffs around his wrists.

"Hey!" the ghost protested, narrowing his eyes. "That's not fair!" Pythor only laughed.

"Quite fair really, I can do whatever I please to you. You are my prisoner after all. Come along now." He tugged at the cuffs, but Morro dug his heels into the ground, not letting himself be pulled after him.

"What are you doing with me?" he asked, glaring at the Serpentine with a vicious hatred in his eyes. Morro was sick and tired of being pulled around, of being manipulated by this fiend. He clenched his fists tightly. "I'm not moving another inch unless you tell me!"

Pythor gave a heavy sigh, turning to face him. "Fine then... I will tell you. You are going to fight in a Slither Pit. Win, and you go free." He now grinned again. "You will be fighting Lloyd."

Morro gasped and stepped back. "I-I won't fight him! I can't. I'm not..."

"Well, then... I suppose you'll just have to die then. I'm rather surprised. Lloyd seemed quite eager to fight you. I wonder if it was something that I said," he tapped his chin before starting to drag Morro along. The ghost fought him, but the Anacondrai was stronger and pulled him through several passages. Morro stumbled but finally just gave up, walking onward. "You know, there's one more thing I forgot to mention to you," Pythor added after a moment. "This isn't any ordinary slither pit—it is a fight to the death. Lloyd will be pleased to hear that, I'm sure... as for you... you must fight him, otherwise, goodbye!"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be Continued..._

 _-_ o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **thearomanticninja -** So it's been revealed but now here's another problem mwahaha.

 **TheAmberShadow -** Your mind was right! There will be ghosts involved but they'll come later... they've got an important part but you'll have to wait.

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** Was your guess right? Genuinely curious here.

 **Morro and More -** Luckily you didn't have to wait too long haha... but oh guess what it's worse now yup.

 **Piratenclown -** He has changed, but it does seem like the world is against him, or at least Destiny. Destiny hates Morro and Morro hates destiny lol. Also you're welcome!

 **Purplecatlover93 -** Well, those questions should be answered next chapter...


	12. Chapter 11: Slither Pit

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I apologize in advance for this chapter.**_

 **CHAPTER ELEVEN**

 ** _SLITHER PIT_**

Morro was pulled through various tunnels, lit only by the lantern in Pythor's hand. The ghost was markedly indignant—Morro hated being dragged around by anyone, and this was no exception. Besides that, being angry at Pythor kept his mind off of other things—such as the fact that he'd soon be fighting the green ninja, who was most likely angry at him. And since it was a fight to the death, it would be Morro's death. The ghost knew that Lloyd would make sure he was gone. And Morro really wasn't looking forward to that.

Finally, though, there was no avoiding it. Pythor brought him to a large chamber. In the center, it was lit by several torches sticking into the ground. Morro could see the shadowy forms of several serpentine that were gathered around, milling about. As Morro approached, he caught sight of Lloyd. The green ninja seemed relatively unharmed—that was good, until Morro remembered that he'd be trying to kill him within a few minutes. Luckily enough, there didn't seem to be any weapons. Lloyd's fists probably couldn't do too much damage. Unfortunately, Morro had no idea what happened in a Slither Pit, nor did he know that Lloyd's vengestone chains would be removed in the fight.

Morro's were taken off before he stepped into the light, as the surrounding Serpentine began to chant "Slither pit! Slither pit!" In a rhythmic incantation. Morro shuddered a little bit. He tried to catch Lloyd's eye as he was pushed forward into the circle of light, but there was no time. Almost as soon as Morro entered, Lloyd's chains were undone and a gong sounded nearby.

The green ninja's attack came in an instant. Without waiting, Lloyd rushed across the short expanse of space, leaping toward Morro. The ghost's eyes went wide as he quickly became intangible, letting Lloyd fall through his body as he jumped back. He could always fight back... but no. Morro couldn't. He couldn't risk hurting Lloyd. Not after what he'd already done to him in the past. He clenched his fists tightly. He'd just have to use evasive tactics. Luckily, they were almost his specialty.

He had almost no time to think before a whirring ball of energy spun his way. Leaping upward, he managed to avoid it. He stretched his arms outward and then brought them close, whipping up a shield of wind to surround him and block Lloyd's attack. It didn't work when the green ninja charged again, but Morro darted to the side in time. "Stop!" he hissed, taking a brief tumble before jumping back to his feet. It was so tempting to take Lloyd down to try to knock some sense into him, but that wouldn't make any sense in the first place. It would only reinforce Lloyd's belief that Morro had organized this. The ghost prepared himself for another attack. He was barely ready for a slew of energy balls to come flying in his direction, followed by an intense beam that made Morro yelp and duck beneath it, doing his best to dart around, propelling himself with puffs of air up and over the area. He could barely stay that way, though. It seemed Lloyd was dead set on his elimination. Maybe someday the green ninja would get tired. It was doubtful though.

Morro avoided yet another attack, and then a beam of green energy grazed his arm. The ghost gave a little yelp, clutching it, and darting to the side. "Lloyd, just... just stop for a minute, please!" he cried.

"Why should I?" Lloyd shouted back. "You're not going to stall again... you tricked me once, I'm not letting you do it again!"

Pythor seemed to be getting impatient. "One weapon!" he shouted, and a rack with several blades descended from the ceiling. Morro quickly grabbed one. This shouldn't be too problematic. It was an instant after Morro had reached for his first weapon that he realized that wasn't the case at all. The weapons were made of deepstone. Lloyd picked up another sword, and made a charge at Morro, who brought up his own and swung it, knocking Lloyd's aside and effectively avoiding certain sudden death. Morro grit his teeth together.

"Lloyd. I'm not trying to trick you! Wouldn't I have already tried to kill you if I was going to do that?"

Lloyd paused just for a moment, and Morro almost thought he was going to relent. However, he attacked again. "I don't know what you're planning, but you're never threatening Ninjago again!"

Morro had had enough of this. But it seemed like he couldn't do anything to stop Lloyd. If nothing else, his sword helped in diverting Lloyd's elemental attacks, and he was good enough at using it to prevent dying from physical attacks. In only a few moments, though, Lloyd had landed some hits. Morro sported a few cuts. They weren't dangerous or bad, but they did slow him down a bit. That could be a problem, especially since Morro had no intention of dying that day.

Pythor simply grinned as he watched. The two were evenly matched, it seemed. But Lloyd would tire faster than Morro would, and with any luck the ghost's anger would be stirred and he'd finish Lloyd off by the time the green ninja had tired. So far, not much had happened, but that was still an entertainment. "Two weapons!" he called out. Morro reached for a second katana, but Lloyd took a shuriken from the rack. The ghost swallowed a little as it was thrown toward him. He dropped his swords, using the wind to divert its path and send it flying into the ceiling.

The roof began to shake and Pythor gave a horrified gasp, whipping his head around to face the two opponents, red eyes locking on a tense, wide-eyed Morro. "You _fool!_ " the Serpentine hissed, furiously. Morro looked upward, and saw in the dim lighting a large stalactite beginning to fall from the ceiling. He spun around, and charged at Lloyd, catching him around the waist and shoving him out of the way. It crashed down, bits of rock flying out around him. Morro clenched a fist, whipping up a shield of wind that kept the bits from hitting him and Lloyd.

Once they'd stopped, Morro gripped Lloyd's shoulders, pinning him to the ground. The green ninja looked almost frightened to be in that position. Morro clenched his jaw. "I really didn't want to do this," he hissed quickly. The serpentine were still reeling from the dust. "But you've got to believe me. I'm a terrible liar and you know that! Pythor wants this, he wants us to fight, he wants me to kill you for revenge. I'm not going to do that. Don't listen to him!"

Lloyd stared back up at Morro with wide eyes, hesitating. Finally, he nodded. "O-okay... but if... if you're lying, I'll kill you. I promise."

"Sure, fine. But we can't let Pythor know we're not fighting, so we need to pretend to fight. Here..." he looked around, the dust was settling. "Fling me off of you."

The green ninja looked puzzled for only a moment before nodding in agreement and kicking upward. Morro let go, flying backwards, flipping in the air, and landing on his feet a bit away. He grunted, dusting himself off and glared across the arena at Lloyd. "Cut it out!" he snapped, charging forward. He created a whirling ball of wind and sent it in Lloyd's direction. The green ninja broke it up with a quick blast, and then they began to duel with their blades.

"Like training," Lloyd whispered, and Morro nodded. As a whole, it was rather impressive, and as both had a lot of experience they made it look pretty convincing. The Serpentine spectators seemed entertained for awhile. Lloyd continued to watch Morro suspiciously—he wasn't completely trusting of the ghost yet, not after everything, but he wouldn't kill Morro until something besides Pythor's words proved Morro wasn't innocent of this. That snake had always been a talented liar, after all. They continued fighting before Morro blew him backwards. Lloyd tumbled across the ground, then scrambled back up to his feet.

"Make it interesting," the green ninja muttered as he moved to attack Morro again, whispering it into the ghost's ear. "We don't want them to get bored."

Morro gave a small nod, and then launched himself upward, landing behind Lloyd and giving him a kick to his back. The green ninja retaliated with a slice of his sword toward Morro's leg, turning it slightly at the last moment so that it caught the flat side of the blade rather than the point. Morro hissed a pit, aiming for his ribs and giving a brief strike beneath them before tumbling back and regaining the katanas he'd lost in the fight. Once again, they began to fight with the blades. Without using their powers, the pair was quite evenly matched—Wu had been right. Morro's skills were too great, and Lloyd's power too strong for them to continue being sharpened by others. The two of them together was virtually the only way to further improve their combat skills.

And now that they'd reached an agreement, it definitely wasn't like Morro at all to hold back. He didn't, rather, he gave Lloyd a difficult time, alternating between his weapons and his powers. The green ninja was forced to do the same, and Morro could see he was beginning to tire. They were getting nowhere fast, and neither knew what would happen if they chose to stop fighting. At around the same time, both seemed to come to the same conclusion. Neither needed to speak—they'd been inside one another's heads, each had a good idea of how the other thought. All it took was a decided look and a brief aversion of their eyes towards Pythor, and both suddenly stopped moving, standing in the center of the pit.

For about half a second, they heard confused murmurs from the gathered Serpentine, and then they both turned to face Pythor, who at first looked shock, and then angry, angrier than he'd been thus far. "Oh, so Morro has turned traitor, hasn't he? Not very surprising," the Serpentine hissed.

Both ninja scowled, and Morro replied. "I never was this time, and you know that."

He and Lloyd lifted their hands, and fired their powers at once. But that brief moment of talking had given him time to prepare. Before the wind and energy hit the snake, he had already jumped off to one side, and with an evil grin he threw something. Next to Morro, Lloyd gave a sudden gasp, and sank down to his knees. Morro's eyes widened and he turned to the green ninja, who was slowly becoming paler and paler. In only a matter of seconds, he had fallen over onto his side.

"Mor-ro..." he muttered weakly. "D-don't... let him... win..." His eyes flickered shut.

It was then that Morro saw the dart. It had struck just under Lloyd's collarbone, pinning his white shirt against his skin. There was a spot of red where it struck... and a lacing of neon green slowly spidering up Lloyd's neck. Morro collapsed down next to him, falling to his knees. He knew that look, he knew the pallor, the sudden stiffness. Morro's hands were shaking hard as he reached out and touched Lloyd's shoulder. "No, no NO!" he cried, clenching his other hand into a fist. "You can't die! You're the green ninja! You can't!"

Why had it been Lloyd? Why hadn't it been Morro? At least Morro wouldn't have died like that... Morro looked over Lloyd's body for any sign of life, but there was nothing. Not even the slightest rise and fall of his chest, or any breath from his nostrils, or any flicker from his eyelashes. Morro couldn't believe it... Lloyd was gone. After everything the green ninja had survived, he was gone. Dead. The ghost felt his eyes burning as tears involuntarily came to his eyes. This whole thing was his fault. He'd gotten them trapped. And now Lloyd was dead, because of him. He'd ruined everything. First Wu, and now Lloyd.

Morro felt even more numb than usual as a Serpentine came behind him and pulled his arms behind his back, fastening his wrists in vengestone cuffs. Morro felt positively sick. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Lloyd's motionless body on the floor. He continued looking over his shoulder until long after Lloyd vanished from sight and he was pulled back into the dark tunnels.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be Continued..._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **Zena1421 -** Plz don't murder me...

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** The ghosts will play a key part in the future, yes.

 **DemigodElfNinjaPony -** You were excited to see what happens next, right?

 **Morro and More -** And I bet you hate him the worst now, right?

 **Purplecatlover93 -** Well... that was going to happen but... then this did :3

 **thearomanticninja -** Be careful what you wish for...

 _ **AUTHOR's NOTE: Please don't stop reading! Also no hate because you'll regret it...**_


	13. Chapter 12: The Depths of Despair

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

 ** _THE DEPTHS OF DESPAIR_**

Morro must have counted the beams in the ceiling of his cell a thousand times. There were exactly five. He'd counted them forward and backward. He'd counted their bottoms and their tops. He'd tried to count the bolts, but he had trouble counting anything higher than ten. After that, he always lost his place and had to start over again. So he counted one ten, then another, but realized later that he had no idea which bolts he'd already counted. Morro could do nothing else, so finally he just gave up.

Once he'd been put in this cell, he'd numbed completely to what had happened. He had no idea how to think about it, how to react. Just like that, Lloyd was gone, and Morro most likely would never see the light of day again. But that was alright. He had no idea how he could possibly explain this to the ninja. Lloyd was gone, Wu was gone... and both were his fault.

He'd counted to keep his mind off of it before realizing that he didn't need to keep his mind off. Morro had no idea how to feel or react. So he simply felt nothing. Once he'd been shoved inside the cell, he'd fallen down and hadn't bothered getting up. Now, he just lay on his back, staring still at the beams. Five. Like the number of ninja there were now. Morro quickly ran a count in his head to make sure he was right—yes, five. Kai, Cole, Zane, Jay, and Nya. There was no way that Morro could ever be a part of their group. Not now that he'd let Lloyd die.

But oddly enough, he didn't feel any grief now. His mind began to wander as he started thinking what it would be like without Lloyd. Garmadon would be upset—no, that was wrong. He would be devastated. Would he be able to be the ninja's Sensei? Or would he go mad from grief? And what about the team? Who would lead them without Lloyd? Maybe Nya. She seemed fairly level-headed, but she was brand new. Would they fall apart? What would happen if another threat rose up, if the green ninja was needed? Now he didn't exist anymore. Or would someone else gain his power?

So much was uncertain. But Morro knew he wasn't going to have anything to do with it. He would stay in this cell forever, until he faded from existence. It wasn't definite, but by this point he had accepted it for a fact. It already seemed like an eternity in limbo had passed since Lloyd's death. It already seemed like it had happened ages ago. Maybe the world was collapsing all around him, maybe he'd be gone in a moment. Maybe the world had already ended and he was simply existing. He was already dead after all.

It hadn't been nearly as long as it felt, though. When the door to his cell opened, he had to admit he was a bit surprised to see Pythor entering, and to see that nothing at all had changed about the snake's appearance. The serpentine slithered inside, and then shut the door behind him. For a moment, Morro just stared blankly at him, and there was silence. Morro felt nothing, not anger, not hatred, nothing. It was as though he was indifferently staring at a wall. He'd actually shown a bit more interest in the beams on the ceiling than he showed in Pythor. After eliciting no angry response from the ghost as he lay on the floor, Pythor grew tired of waiting and finally spoke up.

"And how are you finding your new lodgings?"

Morro's gaze, which had wandered, now turned back to him. The ghost blinked once, but said nothing. He had nothing to say. He never wished to speak to this snake again. As a matter of fact, he almost wished to never speak at all ever again.

Pythor's tail struck him in his side. Morro grunted a bit, but didn't say anything. He merely sat up, scooted a few feet away from Pythor, and then lay back down. This wasn't the wisest choice, because it seemed to almost anger the serpentine, who quickly strode toward him and grabbed him by the shoulders, lifting him up and slamming him against the wall. Morro squinted a little, but it didn't hurt—the wall was normal stone, so he simply went through it. It was only the vengestone cuffs around his wrists that kept him from going all the way through. Pythor pulled him back after only seconds and threw him back to the ground. Morro pushed himself up and then decided it wasn't worth it, sinking back down.

Finally, he spoke. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice a dull monotone. "To taunt me? It won't work. I don't care."

Pythor chuckled a bit. "No, of course you don't... because there is nothing you can do. Hm... or maybe I should just tell the ninja where you are, so you can tell them what happened to Lloyd... it's a pity. Had you struck one moment sooner, I would be no more, and the pair of you could be walking free. But no, you had to talk... too much talking ruins things, and so does too little..." He tapped his chin, looking at the wind master as he sat on the ground. "Now, though... I can never pass up a challenge. Let's see how long you stay as you are." He vanished, and when he'd come back in it was with a tank of water. There was a hose attached to it, with a nozzle at one end. Morro blinked once, face still relatively devoid of expression.

So, was he going to get rid of him then? Just like that? Morro would have almost welcomed it by now. He braced himself for the agonizing sensation of death, but it never came.

"Oh, you can open your eyes," Pythor sneered at him. "It's not what you think. I'm trying to make you care, not... vanish." He stepped forward, carrying the hose nozzle in one hand. Morro swallowed, fighting the urge to edge away. He didn't know what Pythor had planned, but he knew it couldn't be good. Still, he held his ground, only watching apprehensively.

-o-o-o-

He'd been right about one thing—it hadn't been a good plan. When Pythor finally left him, Morro couldn't move without sending pain flaring through his form. He'd broken down eventually—there was only so much burning he could take at a time, even if he'd tried to be stoic for awhile. The hose nozzle could clearly be adjusted, and Pythor only sprayed out a few drops at a time. They hit him in his arms, legs, and lower gut—never in his head or chest, where they may have killed him. But that didn't help. After all, when the rest of his body was covered in burns, Morro didn't really even care about his head and chest.

When Pythor first started he managed to keep from screaming, but after three sprays he'd started to sob, and on about the sixth he'd begged Pythor to stop. Surprisingly enough, the snake had obliged, but most likely because he'd gotten what he'd wanted—he'd broken Morro out of his numbness and made him scream.

If nothing else, though, the agony he was in gave him something to think about besides Lloyd. He could now think about how painful the burns on his legs—clearly the worst of them—were, instead of about Lloyd's death, or what would happen to the ninja without both Wu and Lloyd.

Pythor didn't come back for a long time, or, once again, what felt like nearly an eternity to Morro. The lights outside the room he was in dimmed so that he couldn't even see those pathetic beams on the ceiling anymore, and Morro slowly felt his awareness slipping. The pain from the burns had dulled after a time—or perhaps it was only his getting used to them. Morro really didn't know and he barely cared. He simply lay where Pythor had tossed him, in the corner of the room, and didn't bother moving. His eyes slipped shut and he focused on listening to any sounds that could be heard. All in all, it was eerily silent. He could hear any sounds at all, and as a ghost there wasn't even his heartbeat to listen to, or breathing.

Morro wondered if this was how it would be forever. If he'd simply be trapped inside this little room for the rest of time. And then, he shifted, and his focus turned back to the pain in his arms and lower body.

Time continued to pass in its illusory way—when it was so dark and still it was like nothingness. Morro may have slept a bit, he wasn't completely sure, because he didn't dream. When he woke up, it was the exact same as when he'd fallen asleep. The only difference was the fact that his burns had started healing over. The pain had lessened, and that was a good thing. Soon he could go back to not caring about anything. Unfortunately, things never seemed to go as planned. Just when he was beginning to feel a little bit better, Pythor chose to return.

A faint bit of light floated in under the door and the sound of his scaly body slithering over the ground outside filled Morro's ears. It seemed far too loud, and Morro flinched a little. Then the door opened and it was like the pounding of a bass drum in his ears. The light of the lantern that the snake carried blinded him and he quickly squeezed his eyes shut. When Pythor spoke it was as though someone had taken a dagger and driven it straight through Morro's head.

"Come now, you've napped for long enough... I have something I really must show you," Pythor told him, coming towards Morro. The ghost hissed a bit, glaring at him through squinted eyes and backing away.

"K-keep your hands off me," he grit out. The burns had healed a bit now, but still hurt when he moved. Pythor seemed to know that, and brushed a hand—wearing deepstone gloves—over his leg. Morro gave a yelp, pulling away and almost instantly starting to shake. It was only more painful when Pythor grabbed the chain that linked his cuffs together, hoisting him up from the ground into a standing positon. Morro's legs ached too much to hold himself up for any length of time and he stumbled over and over again, only staying up by his outstretched arms. Pythor was much taller than he, which allowed him to hold the links above his head.

"I thought you knew how to walk... you showed some fancy footwork in the slither pit," the snake muttered, but carelessly moved to drag Morro along. The ghost stumbled, landing hard on his front. The motion brought forth a cry of pain and he shut his eyes tightly, clenching his jaw.

Finally he decided he needed to speak up or go mad with pain. "I-I'll walk!" he insisted. "P-please just stop, let me f-find my footing." Pythor continued dragging him for a moment before giving a bit of a nod and stopping, glaring at Morro as the ghost remained unmoving on the ground for a few moments.

Morro trembled for awhile, his legs and arms burning, but he didn't wait too long before pressing his hands to the ground and painfully dragging himself to his feet. His legs felt like they'd been set on fire, and he could barely keep himself upright as Pythor gripped the chains again and pulled him forward into the dark tunnels. Morro shut his eyes, forcing one foot in front of the other. Soon, everything around him was being drowned out by the pain. It was like a rush to his head. It was all Morro could do to just keep moving, to what end, he had no idea.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be Continued..._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **thearomanticninja -** Nope. No magic thingy :3

 **Zena 1421 -** Pythor is evil.

 **TheAmberShadow -** Uh oh is right.

 **Purplecatlover93 -** Lloyd is not a ghost, his spirit was never cursed. When he dies, he ded.

 **Anonymous7 -** Thanks! I'm always nervous about the fights, I feel they're not my strongest lol.

 **Morro and More -** The crazy isn't done yet!

 **Seeker3 -** I mean you can't technically get better if you're dead so... Also there will be scenes with that!

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** You know the tricks of the trade lol.


	14. Chapter 13: Choices To Be Made

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

 ** _CHOICES TO BE MADE_**

Pythor led Morro through the tunnels again—the ghost was beginning to wonder where exactly they were, and how there were so many of these tunnels. It seemed like it was miles and miles. Of course, then there was the fact that Morro was moving at a very slow pace. And the possibility that Pythor was leading him in circles so that he wouldn't know where he was. That was unnecessary, though. Morro had no idea where he was, and even if he did, he really had nowhere to escape to.

The pain in his legs was positively blinding, and Morro could barely think at the present moment. Pythor said nothing to him, and he didn't notice any difference when his legs finally did give out and the snake proceeded to drag him across the rocky floor. It already hurt enough, those burns couldn't exactly hurt any more. For the most part, the tunnel was dark, lit only by the occasional torch and then Pythor's lantern. But Morro didn't bother looking and kept his eyes tightly shut as they went. Pythor was silent. It was as though the other serpentine had vanished into the very walls, or maybe they were gathered somewhere else—Morro honestly had no idea and barely cared.

On and on they went, until finally they stopped. Pythor let the chains go and Morro simply slumped forward. His head was spinning, his legs and arms burning like fire, and he was more glad than ever that he was a ghost—he wasn't sure he'd be able to breathe right now from the pain. A few seconds after he hit the ground, Pythor's tail looped around and struck him sharply in the knees. "Get up!" the Serpentine hissed.

Morro gave a soft whimper and slowly started pulling himself off of the ground. He couldn't stand, but he managed to prop himself up on aching arms. Slowly, he started to open his eyes. It was lighter here—there were torches on the wall, spaced evenly. The light was still almost blinding, and his vision was distorted from the aching and pain in his body. His eyes began to adjust. First the blinding light turned to distorted swirls of meaningless color, and then it shifted to fuzzy blurs, and then he saw real shapes. Not clear, but enough to tell.

Pythor gave an irritated grunt and grabbed him by the hair, turning his head. After a brief period of adjustment, Morro gasped, eyes widening a bit. In front of him was a moderately sized cell. But that wasn't what shocked him. What shocked him were the cell's inhabitants. On the cot in the back of the cell lay Wu, dressed still in nightclothes, and unmoving. But he had to be alive... or else why would he be stuck in a cell? That wouldn't make any sense at all whatsoever. The greatest surprise came when Morro's gaze strayed to the other corner of the cell.

Suddenly he was trying to get to his feet, a brief surge of excitement rushing through him, mingled with concern. Pythor released his hear as he climbed to his feet, falling forward to grip the bars of the cell. The figure was unmistakable—tousled blond hair, fair skin with the very slightest smattering of freckles across his nose, and far too tall for his youthful face. Morro pressed his face between the bars of the cell—these were solid to him. Probably deepstone, because he didn't feel anything odd.

"Lloyd!" he cried, shocked and incredulous. The ninja lifted his head just the slightest bit, and Morro felt his eyes burning once more with tears. As impossible as it was, he was alive. Lloyd hadn't been killed, he was alive all along. Morro was nearly crying from relief. As much as he still wanted to be the green ninja, his mind had accepted that the title belonged to Lloyd. And Ninjago needed him, the Ninja needed him, his father needed him... now he was here, and he was alive.

The green ninja didn't respond to him, it seemed that the motion of his head was as much as he could manage. But he'd be okay... right?

Pythor had grown impatient and reached forward, once again pulling Morro up by his hair. He turned the ghost to face him, pushing his back against the wall. Morro winced a bit, but then Pythor relaxed his grip. Now he held him just tightly enough to keep him upright.

"Oh, you seem so happy... I'm sorry to have to spoil it all."

Morro blinked. "But... but the poison... Lloyd..."

"It seemed as though he died, yes, but that was only the first stage, a coma." Pythor's lips twisted into a wicked grin as his eyes left Morro's and glanced over his head into the cell. "That lasts only for a few days, or sometimes even a few hours. Never that long."

"F-first stage?" Morro felt his heart sinking. He'd been so happy at first, but where there was a first, there had to be something that followed it. That was never all it was, and now Morro was a little bit afraid to hear about what that something was. For a moment he'd completely forgotten about the pain in his body, his focus completely on what would happen to his master and the green ninja. "What... what else is there?"

Pythor smirked. "That is what I was getting to, little ghost, stop being so impatient," he chided, "We have plenty of time... or rather, we don't. You see, your nindroid friend was right. It is a neurotoxin, it kills through paralysation. But not quickly. No, once a victim wakes from the coma, they have... perhaps two days at most before the atrophy begins. And then, it works just as he said—but not quite as merciful as it may seem. First, it paralyzes the extremities—feet, then legs, then hands and arms... and then one is unable to move their entire body. After that, their organs slowly shut down, and somehow the compound makes certain that it is the least dangerous ones first. I'm sure it's fun to spend several minutes unable to breathe while you wait for your heart to stop..."

Morro felt cold and he stared at Pythor with wide eyes. Was this what he'd done to Lloyd? And now Morro would have to actually watch him die? The ghost had thought his death itself had been bad enough, but he'd been wrong—this was the worst. He'd be watching Lloyd waste away, slowly, and completely unable to do anything about it. The ghost began to tremble a little bit. Pythor grinned evilly as his words sank in.

"Well... if anything, you can be consoled by the fact that they will not be in much pain, as it cuts off their nervous systems as well," the snake stated offhandedly. It was then that Morro caught upon the word he'd used—they.

As if watching Lloyd die wasn't going to be bad enough... "No," he muttered quietly. "You didn't... poison Wu too?"

"Ah! You are getting smarter!" Pythor's voice was laced with mock glee as he nodded. "Of course I did. Why wouldn't I?" He chuckled, and took one hand off of Morro's shoulder to reach into a pocket. Morro had begun to tremble, and once again he felt his eyes burning with tears as he thought about it all. They stung, but he was used to this pain—he'd cried far too often. The burning in his eyes was almost a fact of his life by now. He'd looked away while Pythor had reached in, but the serpentine gripped his chin and forced him to look at him once more, lifting up a small phial full of liquid. There were only a few drops inside, it seemed, and it was a pale blue-violet color, lacking any sort of luminescence.

"Still, I decided to prevent any accidents... and engineered an antidote. Unfortunately, my entire stock was destroyed that time you stumbled upon my lab... this is all I have left. Only enough for... one cure." He held the bottle out, then took Morro's hand and wrapped his burned fingers around it. Instantly, the ghost gripped the phial tightly. Pythor just continued to grin, and pulled him away from the wall. He took a moment to unlock the vengestone cuffs around Morro's wrists and let them fall to the ground, though he still kept a firm hold on the ghost to keep him from slipping away. He unlocked the door to the cell and pushed Morro inside. The ghost fell, cradling the phial close to keep it from breaking and letting the precious drops of antidote fall uselessly onto the ground.

Pythor laughed from the other side of the bars as he locked the cage down. "Remember, there is only enough of that antidote for one of them... so... who shall it be? Your Master? Or the green ninja?" he shook his head. "I will allow you to choose which one. But only one can live, you know... oh... and you had better make your choice quickly, or neither will."

On that happy note, the snake turned and began to slither away, leaving Morro in the cell with Wu and Lloyd. The ghost stayed where he was for a few moments, shaking hard, gripping the phial tightly, but not tight enough to break it. How could he do that? How could he choose between Lloyd and Wu? Lloyd was the green ninja, the leader of the team. He'd actually accepted Morro after everything he'd done, and was possibly the most good-hearted person to ever live. But Wu... Wu was the closest thing to family that Morro had ever had. The choice was impossible to make. Morro curled up on the floor, shaking even harder, a choked sob escaping him.

"Mor-ro..." Wu's voice was weak and quiet, but it brought Morro out of his pit of misery. He forced himself up, face streaked with burns where his tears had fallen. Wu had pushed himself up into a seated position, and was looking toward Morro with a concerned expression on his face. Wordlessly, he brought one arm out to the side.

Morro hadn't seen that gesture since he was a child. It had only been shown a few times before, when Morro had been particularly upset over something. But this time, the reaction was the exact same as last. The ghost wasted no time in making his way over, and pulling himself up against his master's outstretched arm. Wu closed it so that Morro's back was pressed against that arm, and carefully brought the ghost's burned legs up over his knees. Morro pillowed his head on Wu's shoulder, only a few moments before turning it so his face was buried inside it. A few seconds of stillness passed. And then, he began to shake again, choking out a few sobs as Wu rested his other hand on Morro's shoulder, holding him there gently. Neither said anything. Wu didn't try to reassure Morro—from experience he knew that reassurance rarely if ever worked with that particular boy. Finally, Morro finished his cry, rested for a few minutes, and then sat up.

Wu released him, and helped to sit him down next to his cot, so that he was just a few feet from Lloyd. Morro carefully pulled his legs up so that the bottoms weren't touching the ground. He looked down at the phial in his hand, swallowing. "O-only one of you... c-can be saved," he whispered, choking up all over again. "I don't... I don't know what to do."

Neither Lloyd nor Wu responded, and each made eye contact with the other before looking away. Lloyd looked away first, staring at the ground. Then he reached a hand over, resting it on top of Morro's wrist. He gave it a gentle squeeze, being careful not to touch the burns, and tried to offer Morro a little smile. "T-take your t-time... it's... alright. W-we'll be fine."

Lloyd's words were spoken, but his tone wasn't sincere, and his expression told an entirely different story. Morro felt sick to his stomach as he looked at that small glowing bottle. This was horrible. Morro had no idea what to do. He had to choose between the only father he'd ever had and the one who had already been hurt by him enough, the savior of Ninjago. Morro shut his eyes.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be Continued..._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **Zena 1421 -** Oh man is right.

 **Guest -** Thank you!

 **TheAmberShadow -** taking him to more pain and suffering hahaaaaa.

 **HS1274281 -** Well... you were partially right lol.

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** Yup. When.

 **Morro and More -** Someone's gonna be dead.

 **Molly654 -** Hahaha I make people die inside. I have a very particular skill set.


	15. Chapter 14: As Time is Running Out

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

 ** _AS TIME IS RUNNING OUT_**

Not a one of them spoke another word about the choice they needed to make—Morro refused to think of it as the choice that he needed to make on his own. Whoever he chose would live, whoever he didn't choose would die. He wouldn't make this decision on his own. He couldn't. His hands shook a little bit just thinking about it. Whoever he didn't choose, he'd have to watch slowly die. For a little while, Morro sat against the bars, rocking lightly back and forth. He was almost oblivious to Wu's steady gaze upon him. His former master was concerned. Morro didn't want to think about that either. He should be concerned about himself, not about Morro. Morro would be killing one of them soon.

The ghost boy rested his chin on his knees, taking a short breath and shutting his eyes, holding the little phial tightly. The little cell was deadly silent. Wu was simply watching him. Lloyd lay against the corner, unable to support himself. Morro lifted his head, watching the green ninja's labored breathing for a few minutes. Then he glanced towards Wu. "How... why is he so bad? You're not... not as bad as he is..." he whispered, voice barely audible, as if afraid to hear.

Wu pressed his lips together. "He was already tired... and he was fighting. His blood was flowing quickly. It spread the poison through his body," Morro's former master explained, moving one hand to the ghost's shoulder. Morro shivered and let it pass through him. He could feel Wu's hurt expression before he looked up to see it. Wu looked sad, and didn't want to meet Morro's eyes any more than Morro wanted to meet his. How could Morro possibly explain that he couldn't take his comfort? He didn't deserve it. He'd gotten them all into this mess, if he'd defeated Pythor the first time none of this would have happened. Now one of them would be dead in a few days because of him.

He felt numb to anything besides this awful fact—and that included the physical pain that the burns brought him. All he felt was a sick feeling in his gut, which made him wrap his arms around his midsection. Finally, he shook his head. "I-I'm sorry," he stammered, looking towards Wu, fixing his gaze on the old man's hands. "I can't... I can't make this choice. I don't know what to do... I know both of you would say to save the other one... but I can't..." he swallowed hard, biting back threatening tears as he shut his eyes again.

"Morro," Wu's voice was soft, and yet stern. "You cannot blame yourself for what has happened. You did what you could, and it has come to this. You have nothing to apologize for. It is Destiny's working, and you know as well as I that Destiny has never favoured you." Once again, he tried to grasp his student's shoulder.

This time, Morro allowed him to do so, though reluctantly. He gave the slightest of nods. "I-I know... but I can't... I can't help but feel like I could have stopped this..." He took in a shaky breath, and then carefully moved to lean his head against Wu's shoulder. "Are... are you alright?" he asked softly.

The old man nodded. "As well as I could be," he assured him. "The second phase has not set in yet. I'm weak, but the paralysis has yet to begin. I worry more for Lloyd... it appears that it is progressing far more rapidly in him." Wu sighed heavily, turning his gaze towards the corner. Morro swallowed hard. Lloyd looked awful, worse than he'd looked in Stiix after Morro had freed him from his possession.

"I-is he awake?" Morro asked, slowly shifting, meaning to move towards Lloyd. All at once he remembered the burns on his body and gave a hiss of pain, drawing back and closing his eyes tightly, his body trembling a little bit as he fought back a cry. Lloyd's head lifted from the bars and he turned to look at him.

"Don't... move," the green ninja managed weakly, "You're... hurt too. Don't... forget."

Morro gave a quick shake of his head, a choked sob escaping him. "I-it doesn't matter," he wheezed bitterly. "I-I'm not th-that hurt... y-you're worse."

Lloyd managed to sit up straighter and pull himself so he could take Morro's hand in his. Morro winced slightly—his hand had been burned as well—but he ignored it and met the green ninja's eyes as Lloyd gave him a hard stare. "Stop it," he gritted out, clearly struggling to move, to hold onto him, even to speak. "Stop talking like that. Stop thinking like that. You can't get out of this and-and being miserable isn't going to help. G-grow up. We all h-have to sooner or later. J-just for me, it was sooner... for you... later."

Then he let Morro's hand go and went limp once again, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths to try to recover.

"Lloyd is right," Wu confirmed, a little more gently. "There will be time to be upset, but being miserable and delaying will do no good. You must make a decision."

"Why can't you help me? I-I can't choose one of you to die..." he shut his eyes once more, curling back up into a ball. He wouldn't do it, he couldn't... but then, what good would that do? That would only kill the both of them. Maybe he could somehow divide the antidote in half, and give enough to each of them to keep them alive for long enough to find the cure. But he wasn't sure if that was even possible. Could part of the antidote do anything at all? And if Pythor was telling the truth, and this really was the last bit, he'd kill both of them then too.

And speaking of Pythor... that cursed snake couldn't stay away for long. It was about now that he slithered back into the area. Morro didn't look up—he heard his scaly body moving across the floor. The ghost's fists clenched angrily. He wouldn't look at him... he wouldn't...

Morro's resolve broke as soon as he heard a glassy _thump_ from where Pythor was. Now he looked up to see that the snake had placed an hourglass on a bench a little bit away. The sands began flowing through, gently, almost calmly. It was a large glass—it would be quite awhile before the sand had fully run out. Morro swallowed hard. He didn't need an explanation to know what this was. But of course, Pythor decided that he had to give them one anyway.

"Bonding, I see... I'm dreadfully sorry to have interrupted you, but I thought you should have a little something... just so that you know exactly what is going on. I've estimated this poison's reaction time... and you have until the hourglass runs out. Which comes to about one day," his lips curled as his red eyes fixed on Morro's. The ghost wanted to look away, but he didn't. He simply set his jaw and glared back at the snake, who seemed unfazed. "You had better make your choice soon... or else, too bad..."

Morro narrowed his eyes. "Why... why can't you just give me enough for both of them? I can't choose between them! I can't do this!" he snapped, clenching his fists tightly at his sides. His eyes were burning again. One day... just one day. That's all he had. All he had left with one of them. He didn't know Lloyd all that well, and they weren't best friends... but they weren't enemies. And Wu... well... Wu was a different story entirely.

Pythor gave a little chuckle. "Hmm... you know, Lloyd might not have that long. He looks quite terrible already," he pointed out. "Come now, boy, make your choice, say your goodbyes... I'll leave you three alone now to take care of all of that." He waved his hand nonchalantly before turning to slither away down the hall, vanishing into the inky blackness of the unlit passages.

Wu slipped off of the cot so that he sat in between the two ninja. "Lloyd, Morro... we still have some time. Any decision can wait until tomorrow morning. We should talk now."

Morro didn't reply. He felt something like a lump in his throat as he fingered the phial in his hands. Lloyd was also looking toward the ground. He looked depressed, and yet... he seemed as though he had resigned himself to his fate. It seemed like Lloyd thought that Morro would choose Wu over him. Of course, it wasn't preposterous at all. Wu was the only one Morro had ever really had, the closest thing to family he'd ever known. Lloyd knew that much from spending so much time in his head. And meanwhile, there was Lloyd. The green ninja. The one whose title and position Morro had so dearly wanted—and Lloyd was fairly sure that he still wanted it. Even though he'd obviously changed, Lloyd knew Morro too well to think he'd completely given up his visions of greatness. Besides that, he and Morro were little more than enemies—would Morro really choose his life over that of his Sensei's?

Lloyd let his gaze drift to the ground, and Morro watched helplessly as he seemed to get even more downcast. "H-hey... S-Sensei is right... let's not think about it," Morro tried, looking over at him with a concerned look on his face. Lloyd didn't look up at him, or respond. Morro looked to Wu, who shook his head slightly. Then the ghost sighed. "I haven't made a decision... I don't know how to make a choice like this. I'm going to wait, I don't want to think about it... I'm trying to do what's best for everyone, not just for me..."

And yet, he felt as though Lloyd didn't believe him. Morro swallowed, looking away, and then Wu pressed both of their shoulders. "It is late," he said to them quietly, "Or rather, it feels late. We should all sleep. We all need our rest. Do not speak to one another or of these things, they'll be dealt with when you wake up. Come."

For this, Lloyd didn't need any persuasion. The green ninja had shut his eyes, lying on his side in the corner. His legs hadn't moved since Morro had been brought to this cell. The paralysis was already taking hold of him... Morro only hoped he'd actually survive until morning. Slowly, the ghost adopted a similar position, though he was leaning against Wu's leg. He hadn't realized how utterly exhausted he was, what the pain and stress and fighting had taken out of him. As sure as he'd been that he wouldn't be able to sleep, he managed to drift off almost as soon as he'd assumed a semi-comfortable position—as comfortable as it could be with much of his body covered in painful burns.

The two ninja had fallen asleep quickly. They were drained, and they were injured. But Wu didn't fall asleep quite so soon.

When Morro awoke, he was in a different position, lying sideways on the floor, his arms stretched out and his legs a little bit crossed, tightly hugging onto one another. There was no difference in the area. He could hear the sounds of Wu and Lloyd's breathing nearby, and then, more distant, the tinkle of the grains of sand trickling through the hourglass on the table. It was oddly soothing, Of course, Morro was also still exhausted. He'd slept fitfully, nightmares consistently haunting him throughout his sleep, and the pain of his burns continually bringing him just to the edge of wakefulness, only to drop him once again into the black abyss of unconsciousness.

In fact, by now he had almost forgotten the choice that awaited him. He would have forgotten it altogether had it not been for a voice. "Morro! Morro... wake up!" it sounded in his ear. It was Lloyd's voice, but much stronger than it had been yesterday. It must have been a dream... "Morro, come on, I... did you give me the antidote?"

At the mention of that word, the master of wind sat up, rubbing his eyes in confusion. Antidote? Oh... yes. The antidote to the poison that was slowly killing Wu and Lloyd... Only...

As Morro's vision cleared he caught a clear view of Lloyd. The green ninja was sitting up. He seemed less pale. His voice was stronger. And he could move his legs. Morro's eyes went wide and he reached for the phial. It was resting on the soil next to him. He picked it up, holding it high and looking through the glass, and then he gasped. It was empty. He looked from Lloyd to the phial, and wondered if the green ninja had taken it while he'd been asleep. He decided against that possibility, though—Lloyd wasn't the sort to do that. But sure enough, he seemed healed.

A cough from the cot drew their attention to Wu's still form. Just like that, Morro knew. Wu had made his choice for him.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be Continued..._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** Did ya expect not to be? Why kill him when you could cause more pain?

 **Zena1421 -** He does... but he didn't even make it.

 **Purplecatlover93 -** Neeeeitherrr

 **TheAmberShadow -** Oh yeah and now he gets to watch the only family he ever really had waste away. Yup. Fun times.

 **thearomanticninja -** I mean, pretty much, that's it. Yup. Now time for Wu to slowly die hahahahahahhahahahahaaaa.


	16. 15: The Darkest Hour is Just Before Dawn

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

 ** _THE DARKEST HOUR IS JUST BEFORE DAWN_**

Lloyd was out of danger, but he was still far from his usual strength. The green ninja felt weak, as though all of his energy had been drained. He could barely sit up, let alone stand—but that was only to be expected. It was most likely due to a combination of lack of sustenance, intense activity, and the poison that had coursed through his veins for nearly three days. Lloyd wondered if his father had felt similarly when he'd first been bitten. He gave a small shiver. He was so glad to have him back now, even if he might never see him again. Who knows what Pythor planned on doing with him and Morro once Wu passed?

Thinking about them, Lloyd looked up. The torches were dimming, and a few had gone out. Morro's figure was a pale glow in the darkness. Lloyd could see the bars of the cell through his semi-transparent form. It was odd, to be in the same cell as Morro, and not to be fighting. As a matter of fact, Lloyd was barely even concerned, and the concern he felt was more for Morro's well-being than for his own.

Morro hadn't moved since they'd first realized that Wu had given Lloyd the antidote. He had sat next to Wu's low cot, legs crossed, arms resting on his knees. His burns were slowly healing, and though they were still visible as darker patches on his body, they didn't hurt quite so much. His black hair fell down into his face. He sat there in silence, not speaking a word, not moving, not even breathing—without speaking there was no need for him to breathe. Wu hadn't risen from the unconsciousness of the sleep he'd fallen into. It seemed as though Morro was simply waiting for him to do so. Lloyd chewed on his lip. He knew that there was a chance that he wouldn't.

After spending a while in a similar stillness, though his was less of a vigil and more of a regaining of his strength, Lloyd pushed himself away from the wall, crawling on his knees to Morro's side and pausing just next to the ghost. He didn't say anything for a bit and watched Morro's face. It seemed blank and expressionless, his eyes vacant, and Lloyd understood it far too well. He'd spent hours in the same sort of disbelieving trance after the battle at the Corridor of Elders, once the rush had died down and he'd realized he'd never see his father again. He knew that feeling of heavy void within him, and knew that must be what Morro was feeling now as well. He knew that Wu was basically the only person the ghost had ever had.

"He's like your dad, isn't he?" Lloyd finally spoke, his voice a soft whisper. It sounded louder, and echoed off of the silent chamber. Morro didn't move, or show any sign that Lloyd's voice had registered in his mind. The green ninja frowned. He said no more, though, and rather watched Morro—maybe he just needed a little bit of time to respond. Finally, Morro's right shoulder gave a little shrug.

"Maybe," the ghost replied in a similar tone to Lloyd's. "I wouldn't really know. I never had a dad." He tucked his arms up and around his midsection, slouching down a little bit. "I never had any family... so I really have no idea what it would feel like. But... I guess maybe. He's sort of like my dad. Not really, but sort of."

Lloyd nodded. "I sort of know how you feel. After I sent my dad off to the Cursed Realm, I didn't think I'd ever see him again. He'd be gone now if it weren't for you..."

Morro didn't respond, wrapping his arms around his chest. "I-I don't really want to talk about it, okay?" he asked, edging away from Lloyd and resting his hand on Wu's. His eyes were burning again as a few tears welled up and escaped. Lloyd frowned deeply, watching him, but in the end the green ninja nodded, accepting Morro's desire to move away.

"Alright," he agreed. "I'll... I'll let you two be." He moved back over to the other side of the cell, and Morro once again resumed his silent vigil. The ghost ran his fingers over his Sensei's hand, rubbing in small, circular motions. He tried not to think about the fact that Wu was dying, but that was all he could think about. After a few minutes, he shut his eyes, bowing his head.

"Sensei... please... wake up..." he whispered. "Don't go like this... I-I didn't even get to say goodbye." He felt heavy, like something deep inside of him was slowly tearing. It felt like he was bleeding, but he wasn't. His eyes were burning furiously from the tears which kept flowing. He felt his throat lock up, a lump forming, and his shoulders bent even further forward as he hunched over. His hair brushed Wu's form, and his small form shook. Lloyd watched, his eyes wide. He'd never seen Morro cry before. A part of him wanted to comfort the ghost, but he had no idea how, so he simply watched in silence. The only sound that broke the quiet of the chamber was Morro's quiet sobbing.

He didn't realize that Wu had placed a hand on his cheek until his former master spoke. "Morro... I am not gone yet," his voice was weak. Morro opened his eyes, gasping a little, and then leaned forward and hugged Wu tightly.

"Sensei!" he cried, holding on for a while before pulling back. Wu wrapped his arms around Morro too, and the ghost couldn't help but feel just a little bit content. It only lasted for a moment, though. Within a few seconds, he had sat up, and his eyes filled with tears once again. "Wh-why did you do it? I-I was trying to figure out how to-to save both of you..." he choked.

Wu shook his head. "No... Morro..." he spoke firmly. "There was not enough time. My time in Ninjago has passed, I have been here long enough."

Morro swallowed, sitting up straighter, and shaking his head harshly. His hair flipped around his face with the vigor of the movement. "No! You haven't... You're the closest thing to family I ever had, I can't lose you like this... I-I just got back..." He clenched his hands into fists and then moved to grip the fabric of Wu's robes.

Wu took hold of his arm. "Morro. Look at me." At first, the ghost did not obey, but Wu repeated the command once more, and Morro met his eyes. "I understand that you are upset. But there is nothing you can do to save me. I have had a very long life, Morro, much longer than you know. I've trained the ninja, who are now more than ready to protect Ninjago without me. And now you've come back to me as well. Now, the ninja will be your family."

"But-But I..." Morro stammered. "I hurt them... I-I can never be one of them..."

"That is a lie. You must let it go," Wu told him. "Once you let go of what holds you back, you will reach your true potential. I still believe in you, Morro. Not as the green ninja, but as a person and a ninja. You still have a chance to make a new life for yourself. With or without me. The ninja will accept you—Lloyd already has, and the others will surely follow."

Morro just shook his head again. "But... you... you can't die. You've always been here... You're... You're Master Wu..." His voice cracked, and he spoke weakly.

Wu didn't reply for a bit, shutting his eyes and taking a breath. His body shuddered. Morro cast a quick glance at the hourglass. It was still partially full, but it was getting ever closer to empty. "S-Sensei...?" Morro asked quietly, reaching out and gripping Wu's hand. "Sensei... don't..."

Wu turned, looking at him once more. "Morro, no one can live forever, not even me. But you will always carry part of me inside of you. It was I that trained you, helped to shape you into who you are now. I made some mistakes, but in the end it has come out right. Please remember... Destiny has a plan for all of us. It is just that its plan for me has come to an end. You were my first student, Morro. The first one to ever be trained in the way of the ninja. What is the first rule of the ninja?"

Morro sniffed, rubbing his face on his arm. "Ninja never quit," he murmured quietly.

"Exactly. Remember that. After I am gone, you and Lloyd will still be here. You cannot give up. I am so proud of all of you."

"No, Sensei, don't go!" Morro cried as Wu closed his eyes, gripping his shoulders and shaking him, but Wu had drifted off. Now, Lloyd finally approached.

"U-uncle?" he asked. His eyes were red-rimmed as he reached and pressed two fingers to Wu's neck. "H-he's still alive," he told Morro, but the ghost's cheeks were already heavily burned from tears. He still held onto Wu's shoulders, but his gaze had drifted toward the hourglass again. It would be empty in an hour.

"N-not for long," he stammered. A noise from the hall caught the two ninja's attention as Pythor slithered into the chamber. "Ah... I see you have made your choice. What a pity... I'd have thought you'd have chosen your beloved Sensei and saved me the trouble. You and Lloyd didn't seem all that fond of one another in the Slither Pit... ah well, I suppose that simply means more fun for me." He glanced at the hourglass. "You'd best say your goodbyes. He only has a short time left... and Lloyd won't last too long either." With that, the Serpentine slithered out of the room, his white tail vanishing into the shadows. As soon as he was gone, Morro collapsed over Wu's body, hugging him tightly. The tears began to flow once again.

Morro made no sense of the passing of time. It seemed to tick by meaninglessly, almost as though Morro was suspended, as though nothing was changing. He didn't move, his arms still wrapped around Wu's shoulders. He couldn't be dying. It was impossible. Wu had always been there, and for him not to be there, Morro could barely even imagine it. So he began to assume that none of this was actually happening. That either they would stay this way forever, or that Wu would someday wake up. He was just asleep... Pythor was bluffing. The poison wasn't real... Infinite possibilities raced through Morro's mind, and none of them were true at all. The full weight of it came crashing down when Lloyd set a hand on his shoulder and, with a trembling voice, he murmured, "He's gone, Morro... h-he's gone."

At those words, Morro suddenly felt numb, slowly sitting up. Pythor slithered out of the shadows.

"Well now, time to get down to business... what should I do with you?"

But Morro wasn't listening to him. He'd closed his eyes. Wu's final words to him circled through his mind. He wasn't the green ninja, but he was a ninja. Wu had trained him to be a protector. To become a ninja wasn't about power, and it wasn't about fighting. It was about a willingness to lay down your own life, over, and over, and over again, for those that couldn't protect themselves. No matter what color the gi was. Morro had hurt others in the past. His actions were irreversible. But the guilt he felt was weighing him down, dragging him into an abyss of despair over and over again.

He needed to let it go. If only because that was Wu's last wish—a new life for him. So he did. Memories flashed across his mind. He felt bitterness, anger, jealousy, and guilt welling up inside of him. And one by one, he let them go. He let his anger at Garmadon for cursing his soul go, his anger at Wu for giving him false hope go, and then, finally, his hatred for life itself. Others had forgiven him, he could forgive others. He let the bitterness and jealousy he still felt when he thought of Destiny's choice float up, and vanish. He would never be the green ninja, but that would never again keep him from being a good person. Then, finally, he remembered all of the things he had done to hurt others. The pain he'd caused, which was still healing for some. It was like a knife deep inside of him. Slowly, he pulled it free. He'd done horrible things. He'd hurt others, perhaps caused scars that could never be healed. But he couldn't change it. And he could now be a different person. A better person. He could do what he could to repair it, and accept the things he could not fix. A peace he'd never felt before began to settle over him as he let that guilt float away and vanish.

Pythor reached out to unlock the cell. The latch clicked open, and he drew out a curved blade. "Now, Lloyd, since Morro chose differently than I expected, I must end you myself."

Lloyd gasped, but not at the sight of the blade. His gaze was directed at the cloud of wind that seemed to gather around Morro, slowly lifting the ghost from the ground. Morro climbed to his feet, turned toward them, and then opened his eyes.

They were glowing brightly.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be Continued..._

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **HS1274281 -** Will do!

 **thearomanticninja** \- the Garmadon family never has a good time. Haven't you watched the series? :P

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** Did ya predict this?

 **Purplecatlover93 -** Character Development. And Suffering.

 **Morro and More -** Nope. NOW he just died.

 **Zena 1421 -** Dang is right.


	17. Chapter 16: Grieving

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

 ** _GRIEVING_**

It all sort of happened at once. It wasn't completely intentional. But one minute he was on the ground, and the next he was in the air, surrounded by a whipping stream of wind that ripped everything in its path away, except for Lloyd and Wu's body, who he lifted up and brought to one side on the same whirlwind gusts. Morro wasn't sure what was happening. All he knew was that he felt a surge of power flowing through him, like he'd never, ever felt before. He'd always been strong. And now, he was even stronger. It was unbelievable. And it just kept growing. Once Lloyd and Wu were out of danger, Morro rose higher. The winds spun faster. It was like Spinjitzu, only bigger. Faster. More dangerous.

First, the cage crumbled, loosing itself in a rubble of deepstone, swirling around Morro in the inescapable whirlwind that now surrounded him. Then Pythor joined him, and then it began to rip out massive boulders from the walls, floor, and ceiling. The white anacondrai was caught up inside of it. Morro turned in midair, catching sight of him. His teeth bared, eyes shining brightly, as he moved his arms. The wind shifted just a bit, sending the rocks hurtling towards Pythor. The snake gave a cry, trying his best to avoid them or fling them back at the ghost—they passed through his form with no effort at all, freeing themselves from the whirlwind to smash into its walls.

Morro's entire body glowed more brightly, becoming even more transparent, and his motions within the whirlwind were fluid, expert. Rock after rock was sent toward the snake, who avoided them as best as he could, though it was getting harder and harder as Morro—and the wind—got stronger and faster. But he wasn't, for once, fuelled by anger. He was fuelled by an excessively strong need to protect, something that he'd never felt before in his life.

Lloyd stared at him, his green eyes wide. Morro had always been a powerful elemental master. But his true potential was a whole different level. The very walls were being ripped apart by the force of the whirlwind. Lloyd could barely see Morro though the debris his tornado had picked up. The only thing that showed him was the bright glow in the center, where Morro was. Pythor was completely unable to be seen, or heard. Then, all at once, it burst through the top. Sunlight poured down through the hole in the ceiling. The tornado grew, joining with the sky above.

Morro narrowed his eyes. Pythor was just across from him, clinging to a flying boulder. The ghost slammed one hand forward, and the boulder flew out, snake and all. It launched out over the landscape before crashing down some distance away. Pythor was motionless. It was only now that Morro felt the winds dying off. The rest of the debris flew out, piling here and there, and Morro closed his eyes, landing gently on the ledge where Lloyd and Wu's body were.

As soon as his feet touched the ground and the vortex vanished completely, Morro stumbled forward. Lloyd reached out and caught him, helping to steady him as he struggled to regain some sense of himself. "That was amazing," the green ninja said quietly. "What happened?"

Morro blinked, and offered him a small, genuine smile. "I-I didn't want to let Sensei down." He replied, voice wavering just slightly as he knelt down, brushing his hand against Wu's cheek. "He... he told me how. I had to let go of things. Once I did that... well, that happened."

"You saved my life," Lloyd responded. "Pythor was going to..."

"I know," Morro nodded. "I... I'm so glad I did."

A whirring sound from above caught them off guard, and both ninja looked up to see _Destiny's Bounty_ hovering above them, slowly lowering down. "Lloyd!" Garmadon called down, and a moment later a black and purple elemental dragon descended from the ship's deck, and Garmadon leapt from its back onto the ledge, quickly rushing to his son and wrapping him in a tight hug. "My son... you're alright..."

Lloyd hugged him back tightly, trembling a little bit. "Y-yeah... I am... but I w-wouldn't be if it weren't for Morro and... and Uncle Wu..."

It was now that Garmadon noticed the pair. Upon his arrival, Morro had sunk to his knees next to Wu's body and shifted it into his lap. The ghost wasn't crying. Rather, he was sitting there with Wu's head in his lap, his fingers gently brushing over Wu's cheek.

Morro found it harder than he'd expected to actually say goodbye. Wu was such a constant... Even at his lowest and most angry point in the Cursed Realm, Morro had never really imagined that Wu would be gone. And now he was. He could barely believe it, and a part of him still expected Wu to wake up then and there. He knew it wasn't possible, though. And as much as it hurt, Morro was oddly at peace with it all. A tiny smile stretched across his face as he curled up a little bit, hugging Wu though he knew his Sensei wouldn't be able to feel it and wouldn't know what he was doing. "You were right... once I let it go... I feel better..." he murmured softly. "I found my true potential, Sensei... th-thank you..."

And all at once, the lack of tears ended. His cheeks began to burn as he pressed his face into Wu's shoulder, breaking down, shaking hard, sobbing bitterly.

Garmadon looked toward his son, and then slowly released Lloyd, kneeling down next to Morro. He placed his hand on the back of the ghost's head in silence. Morro forced himself to stop crying, and then looked up, Wu's head still on his lap as he met Lloyd's father's eyes. "H-he's gone... h-he's gone..." he murmured.

Garmadon still said nothing. He didn't know how to properly comfort Morro. He would have hugged the ghost, but he wasn't sure how well his advances would be taken, considering the history between him and Morro. He didn't really know what to say to Morro, so instead, he turned to cup Wu's cheek in his hand. It was cold and lifeless. He closed his eyes briefly. Lloyd joined the two of them after that, and they sat in silence next to Morro and Wu. After awhile, the _Bounty_ disappeared, but it was only to land a short distance away. The rest of the ninja approached the jagged edge of the hole, peering down.

"Are you alright?" Misako called down as they seemed to hesitate, uncertain whether or not to go down and help them.

None of the three responded at first, and then finally Garmadon spoke up. "Yes... we are. We will be out in a moment." Then he finally stood up. Morro still didn't move from where he sat. He seemed almost frozen. Garmadon sighed heavily. "Morro... come. We must go back to the _Bounty_. We cannot stay here forever." Now he reached out for Morro's shoulder, but his hand passed through the ghost's body. Lloyd looked up at his father, then at the master of wind.

"Go on, Dad," he told Garmadon. "I-I'll get Morro... and... and Uncle Wu."

Garmadon hesitated, but in the end he nodded and reformed his dragon, gliding back up to the top of the hole and landing next to the others. Lloyd turned back to Morro. "Come on. We need to go. We can't stay here."

At first, Morro didn't respond, but then he slowly began to rise up to his feet. He shifted his arms so that he was carrying Wu's body. He barely could do so—he was a lot smaller than Wu was, and almost dropped him twice, but he stubbornly kept his footing. Lloyd blinked back tears. Wu really was gone. He could barely believe it any more than Morro could.

The green ninja turned away, and made his elemental dragon—it took a few tries, but the bright green dragon eventually hovered just next to the ledge. Lloyd climbed on, and then offered a hand. "Sit in front of me, Morro. Come on. I-I don't know how long my dragon will last..." he managed. Morro nodded and approached, and Lloyd caught his arm, helping him on board. They took off, gliding up into the sky. Morro took a shaky breath and leaned back against Lloyd's chest. This time, the green ninja didn't even flinch. That, if nothing else, made Morro feel a little bit better.

It was only a few seconds before Lloyd landed and climbed off of his dragon, helping Morro off as well. The others quickly gathered around, helping Lloyd steady Morro and keep hold of Wu's body. Garmadon and Misako were standing nearby. Misako was crying, holding on to Garmadon. Morro felt a little bit weak, and with the help of Lloyd and Kai, they lowered Wu's body to the ground, on top of a sheet that Jay tossed down. As soon as the weight was taken off of his arms, he swayed a little bit. Lloyd didn't seem any better, and Kai quickly caught him as he stumbled, while Cole moved and took Morro's arm.

"Come... we must get back aboard the _Bounty_ ," Garmadon gave Misako's shoulders a tight squeeze before approaching them. "Lloyd, Morro... there is nothing we can do for my brother, but both of you need food and drink." This time, he lifted Wu's body, and the ninja made their way back on board the flying ship. They didn't bother cooking a meal—none of them was quite up to that, so they simply took some left-over food and heated it up. Lloyd and Morro were given precedence. They were brought to the table, and set down, and Garmadon wrapped a blanket around each of their shoulders. But neither of them seemed too keen on eating. Wu's place at the table was painfully vacant for all of them. For the ninja, it was a place that had been filled for so many years. For Morro, it was the only family he'd ever had, gone.

"Eat," Garmadon urged them. Lloyd and Morro slowly exchanged glances, and then finally they picked up their chopsticks, taking a bit of food and trying to eat. Satisfied for the time being, Garmadon turned to his own place. He didn't have any more of a desire to eat than the two ninja did. Next to him, Misako gave his arm a gentle squeeze.

Once again, none of them spoke for a while, and they picked at their makeshift meal in complete silence. One by one, they set their chopsticks down. Morro was the first, and Cole the last. Another few moments of painful silence passed, and then at last, Nya spoke up. "What do we do now?" the water ninja asked, quietly.

Morro didn't respond, and neither did anyone else. The ghost felt grief knot up deep inside him yet again. What do they do now? Now that Wu was gone. Their Sensei was gone, and he wouldn't be coming back. Morro didn't know how to reply to Nya, and he didn't even know himself, except for one impulse. It was this that he acted upon. He abruptly stood up, then turned and walked through the nearest wall, into Wu's room, where his body lay silently on his cot. Morro sat down on the floor, pulling his knees against his chest and curling up against the wall.

What do they do now? Wu was such a vital part of the ninja force. He was a vital part of Morro's life—of all of their lives. What could they do? Now he was gone... now his legacy lived on only in his students. Morro slowly looked up, catching a glimpse of Wu's still form on the bed as he then began to stand up once more. That's what they would do. He went back to the dining room. The others looked up when he returned. Morro swallowed. "S-sorry for r-running off like that... I-I needed to think." He took a breath. "H-he wouldn't want this... h-he wouldn't want us to just sit here in silence... he'd want us to keep going without him... to carry on his legacy."

The ninja were nodding in agreement. Morro swallowed once more. He felt weak, nervous, and like he didn't really belong here, but he forced those feelings back—Wu wouldn't have wanted that either. Morro looked around at the rest of them. "But... but first we need to s-send him off... I... I know just the place."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _To Be_ Continued...

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **Purplecatlover93 - Yes he did.**

 **thearomanticninja - indeed. It's a good trope though.**

 **FirstFandomFangirl - Nah, it's good for character development. I don't feel sorry for him. Wu's been around long enough anyway. Morro will get over it.**

 **Zena 1421 - ikr?**

 **TheAmberShadow - Yeah, he's trying to be the Sensei right now, but wait til the funeral. It's gonna be so much tragic.**

 **Morro and More - I am not sorry haha.**

 **DerpiestDangDiamond - Powerful wind child yiss.**

-o-o-o-

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, I'm pretty sure the next chapter will be the last of this installment, but don't worry! I've already got the next plotted out. Also, next chapter will be Wu's funeral sooo. -gives out kleenex-**


	18. 17 A Time to Mourn, A Time to Dance

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

 ** _A TIME TO MOURN, A TIME TO DANCE_**

The flying ship hovered next to the mountaintop as Garmadon carried his brother's body across the plank and onto the edge. The rest followed him. The ninja looked around at the ruins, and Cole gave a nod of approval. "Wow... wasn't this place... messier last time we were here?" he asked.

Morro hopped onto the top of the cliff besides them. "Yeah," the ghost nodded. "I guess so... I've sort of been living here. I uh... I used Spinjitzu to clean it up." He gestured at a stack of rubble, and then walked over to a sapling in one corner of the courtyard. The ground around it was fertile, and a few other plants had grown up alongside the cherry tree. Morro brushed a finger along the leaves, which were uncurling to meet the pale sunlight. Then he walked back to rejoin them. "What... what do you think?" he asked quietly. "Do you think this is a good place?" He walked outside to a spot next to an older cherry tree just beyond the monastery's walls. "I was thinking... right here. It's... it's where I first met him." There was a rock a short distance away. "I was sitting there," he pointed.

The ninja looked at one another before nodding.

"Yes," Garmadon nodded. "I think it is a good place. This place was always close to his heart... as were those that trained here."

They spent a few moments in silence, contemplating the setting. The cherry tree waved gently in a breeze that washed over the mountaintop, sending a few pink and white blossoms fluttering down and being whisked away over the landscape. Then, Morro looked toward Cole. "Can you... you know?" he asked, voice cracking slightly. The earth ninja nodded, pressing his foot into the ground and almost effortlessly digging the grave. Morro watched, and shivered, turning away, closing his eyes. So this was it. Somehow, burial seemed so much more final than just death. Morro understood—Wu was gone for good. But that didn't make it easy.

Clearly, it wasn't just hard for him. None of the others had moved forward to continue with the burial either.

It was inevitable, though. Finally, Garmadon stepped forward, and lowered Wu's body, wrapped in a sheet, into the freshly dug grave. The eldest son of the First Spinjitzu Master knelt down at the edge of the grave, hands resting against the cool, smooth earth. He closed his eyes. He'd never expected it to be Wu that passed first. His younger brother... he'd only had such a short time to know him after he'd been cleansed from evil. Garmadon had been strong up until this point, but now, finally, he too broke down. His little brother was gone. He remembered their childhood together, before Garmadon was bitten. He remembered how they had been the best of friends... and how they were still the best of friends now, even after everything that had happened between them. "Goodbye, brother," he choked out, a few tears running down his face and falling down into the dirt beneath his hands.

Lloyd watched as his father broke down next to his uncle's grave. The green ninja had never seen Garmadon so upset. He moved to kneel down next to him, and rested his head on Garmadon's shoulder. "Dad," he whispered. "It'll be alright... h-he wouldn't want you to cry. H-he'd want you to be strong. I-I know you are." He put his arms around his father, and Garmadon hugged him close. He closed his eyes. Tears ran down his cheeks. He wasn't trying to convince himself that it would be alright. Lloyd knew it would be—they'd all miss Wu, but he wouldn't let it destroy them, like Zane's death had torn the team apart before the Tournament of Elements. "As long as we all have each other... it'll be alright," he whispered. Garmadon nodded, and Lloyd felt comforted by that, and by the tight hug he was wrapped in.

Misako came to join them, and the rest of the ninja slowly stepped back. Morro hesitated, but also stepped to one side. Wu was the closest thing to family he'd ever had... but he still wasn't part of it. A family was something in the blood. Morro was a pupil, Wu had been his mentor, he'd loved him dearly... but this moment was for the family. After a few seconds, the ghost leapt up, floating easily to rest in the cherry tree's branches, He sat there, lying down and wrapping his arms and legs around the bough. A few blossoms fluttered down and floated through his intangible form.

After a long time of silence, Garmadon stood up and nodded toward Cole. The other ghost pushed the displaced earth back, burying Wu in the soil. Morro felt his eyes stinging once again as he watched as the last bit of white cloth, the last sight of his former mentor, was buried beneath the earth.

Then Garmadon took a deep breath, slowly rising to his feet. He cleared his throat, swallowing hard, throat working. "Today, we bid farewell to a fine warrior, a wonderful Sensei, and a dearest friend," he said softly. "Wu... I hope that... wherever you are now... you know that we will all miss you."

"And we will do our best to carry on your legacy," Lloyd spoke up.

"And we will never forget your teachings." Zane bowed his head.

"You believed in all of us, even when we didn't believe in ourselves," Nya looked down at her hands.

"You supported us in our hardest times," Cole added.

"You brought our family together." Kai put his arm around Nya's shoulder.

"You helped us to become so much more... to grow up..." Jay looked down.

Morro swallowed. "You gave us all the chance to become great people," he whispered. "And while some of us didn't learn until later... it all came out alright in the end."

He climbed down from the tree, and pulled a breeze through the blossoms, loosening a good number of them and carrying them in a spinning vortex to rest on top of the fresh grave. Once the blossoms had settled, Morro joined the others, and they all placed their hands together and bowed. They didn't speak to one another for a while, and they slowly started to head back to the _Bounty_ as dusk settled over the monastery and the sun dipped beneath the horizon. Morro didn't move, he stood where he was, looking down at the grave until the wind had blown all of the blossoms away but for a few.

As Lloyd's footsteps began to retreat toward the _Bounty_ , they suddenly stopped. "Hey... you're... you're going to come back with us, right?" Morro heard the green ninja say. The ghost took a deep breath.

"I-I... don't want to leave him," he murmured quietly. "I-I'm going to stay here."

Lloyd didn't reply for a while, and then he murmured, "Oh. Alright." There seemed to be a hint of sadness to his voice. He didn't move, and Morro heard him sigh. "Well... you always have a home here... you know that, right?" he asked.

Morro swallowed hard, and tried to come up with a response, something that made sense... but all he managed was a choked "Yeah." After that, he heard Lloyd's footsteps retreating. The gangway lifted from the ground, and the _Bounty_ lifted off, making the tops of the cherry trees bend and rock in the wind. Morro looked up to watch the _Bounty_ gliding away into the sky. The last of the sun's rays vanished beneath the horizon, and cool dusk settled over the land. Soon, the ship was just a speck in the distance. Morro looked back down at the ground. Regret filled him for a moment—maybe he should have gone with them. Maybe he should have become a ninja. But this was the only home he'd ever had. He'd just lost the only family he'd ever had... he couldn't leave his home behind too.

As the moon rose in the sky, Morro lay down next to Wu's grave, curled up on the ground. He shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

-o-o-o-

"What do we do?" the voices started to filter in to Morro's ears, though in his half-conscious state he only barely deciphered them. "Should we wake him up?"

"I dunno... he's still sleeping for a reason. He's probably exhausted..."

"Yeah, I'll say. He slept through the building. I don't know very many people that can sleep through construction."

"Funny... he used to wake up at the slightest noise... probably just really tired."

"I understand that."

Morro started to stir a little bit, a puzzled expression slowly creeping onto his features as he shifted, muttering a little bit in his sleep.

"Look, he's waking up!" he heard a voice say—this was Jay's. As soon as Morro recognized the voice and remembered all that had happened the night before, the wind master sat bolt-upright. He was shocked to see all of the ninja standing around him, and rubbed the back of his head, blinking several times.

"What... what are all of you doing here?" he stammered, wide-eyed. Lloyd was holding his hands behind his back.

The green ninja shifted from one foot to another. "Well... did you really think we were going to give up on you so easily? You saved my life... and my father's. We weren't just going to... to leave you here all on your own for who knows how long. We thought we'd try to change your mind."

Morro hesitated, looking away. Shame crossed his features. "You... you don't understand... Lloyd, this is my home..." he trailed, off, becoming very interested on the grass and dirt and fallen cherry blossoms beneath his hands. He heard Lloyd give a brief yelp as Kai elbowed him in the side, and looked at the two ninja curiously as Lloyd brought his hands out from behind his back. He held out a package toward Morro.

"Here... I-I don't know it it'll make you change your mind at all, but... Sensei Wu ordered this before he disappeared... Mom got it that morning, but we didn't have a chance to give it to you." He nodded toward the package, meeting Morro's eyes and urging the ghost to take it.

Hesitating, Morro reached out. He took hold of the package. It was rather curious... it was a box, not very large, and rather flat. Morro stood up slowly, brushing himself off, and turned the box upside down, shaking it. He couldn't hear anything. He tried to read the label, but it was just an address, and too small and oddly written for Morro to really make any sort of sense of. He looked back towards Lloyd and the ninja, frowning deeply—though it was a frown of curiosity.

Jay huffed. "Just open the box!" he cried, and Morro shrugged, nodding. He clenched his hand to one side, making a small dagger and cutting through the tape on the box.

Its contents fell out in a flurry of dark green and grey. Morro gave a little gasp, reaching down and picking them up. It was a set of clothing—black pants with dark green ties, a grey shirt, and a dark green tunic with silver details. Morro held it up—it looked exactly like the ninja's new airjitzu gis. Morro felt his lip tremble a little bit, and he turned the tunic over, running his finger along the symbol for the elemental master of wind.

Then, he closed his eyes, and shook his head. "I-I love it, but... but I can't... I just can't accept it..." he murmured, shaking his head again, sadly. The ninja looked a little bit disappointed, but Morro ignored their expressions. "It's not that I don't want to be a ninja. I want to. I-I want to use my training for good... I just can't leave this place behind forever... it's the only home I ever had, and Wu's buried here..." He cut off as Cole reached over and covered his mouth, and Morro blinked, eyes widening as he stared at the other ghost.

"Asking you to be a ninja isn't the same thing as asking you to leave, silly..." the earth ninja scolded him, and Morro blinked a few times again as his mouth was released. Cole shrugged. "We talked a lot last night, and decided that giving up on you... and on this place... just wasn't worth it. Besides... the _Bounty_ was great for the four of us, but it's getting a little small with seven ninja. So we got here really early and..." he gestured toward the gates of the monastery. "See for yourself."

Morro stepped over to the gates, and peered through them. Then he gasped. The courtyard was no longer nearly empty—a complete training course had been set up. And where there had once been ruins, there was a wooden frame, built into the exact shape that the Monastery had originally been in. Morro clutched the gi in his arms tightly against his chest, and he stepped into the courtyard. He ran one hand along the freshly cut wood of the structure, and then turned back to look at the ninja.

"You're... fixing it?" he asked quietly.

Kai nodded. "Yeah, we are. After all, it was home for a lot of us too. It'll be our home again... but we could use some help. And a new training partner." The red ninja offered a smile, and then, after just a moment's hesitation, Morro returned it.

He looked down at the clothes in his hand, and then stepped back. In a whirl of Spinjitzu, he changed from his ragged clothing into the new gi, taking a moment to look at himself—it had been a long time since he'd been dressed in more than rags. It looked and felt great... Morro felt like a real ninja again after so long. He grinned at them, nodding. "Yeah... I-I'll help you." He said, approaching.

Lloyd came up along one side of him, and Cole on the other. They put their hands on his back.

"Come on, then," Lloyd smiled. "We've got a lot of work to do to turn this place back into a Spinjitzu Monastery." And with that, the ninja—all of them—headed into the construction site.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 _Fin_

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Aaand it's done. Morro is officially the wind ninja. Wu is gone, but they're still together and they'll get through that. Everyone lives happily ever after... until the next book in the series, that is. The next installment will be called "Accusation", and I should have that one started within this week. Plans for that one will include a little background on Morro's family and where he came from, so that should be fun. We'll also be meeting a special someone whose identity won't be revealed just yet... And it should be fun. So, stay tuned! Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers, and I hope you enjoyed this fic!**

 **REVIEW RESPONSES**

 **FirstFandomFangirl -** No, he just learned Spinjitzu at the monastery. He's never unlocked it before then, and it was a source of frustration... I may end up writing a oneshot back in his childhood to tie into that and why it's so important. But no, this was his true potential.

 **thearomanticninja -** yup. I know, I know. It's cliche. But it's cute ok?

 **Purplecatlover93 -** But he gained an entire family :)

 **Zena 1421 -** And now it's happy.

 **Morro and More -** Did you have enough kleenex?


End file.
